By now, we鈥檙e all well-versed in this world of meeting id鈥檚 and virtual wait rooms. Students have had classes in different modalities and in-person events are highly restricted. But did you know that there鈥檚 a science behind the type of burnout that鈥檚 exclusive to being online?
Virtual meetings make us ever-present of our cameras, other participants, whether we appear engaged, all before we get to the actual content. We end up over-emoting to compensate for being a little box on a screen.
鈥淔or some people, the prolonged split in attention creates a perplexing sense of being drained while having accomplished nothing. The brain becomes overwhelmed by unfamiliar excess stimuli while being hyper-focused on searching for non-verbal cues that it can鈥檛 find.鈥� (Skylar, 2020.)
As I plan for spring semester events, I鈥檓 seeing the effects of Zoom fatigue and a severe drop in student engagement. While I also miss the days of in-person gatherings, the simple fact is online events might just be our future, pandemic or not. There鈥檚 always costs and risks associated with travel, and recruiters are seeing the benefit to connecting with campuses online. While I鈥漨 not here to convince the students that every virtual activity is as beneficial as in-person ones, there鈥檚 something to be said for paying attention to the direction employers are heading.
Knowing that fatigue is real has helped my office develop more curated events, where students are maximizing their interactions with employers, all within a set period of time. We鈥檙e trying to cut down on the noise and emphasize outcomes. Our students are so adaptable, and I know employers will love to see 大象传媒 Western embracing the new normal.
Megan Raney
Career Development Director