Introduction

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many workplaces and schools have shifted to remote work and learning to slow the spread of COVID-19. Zoom meetings, Google Meet’s and Skype calls have taken the place of board-room meetings and classroom lessons. In the beginning, many anticipated having more free-time due to less time spent commuting and more flexible work/school hours. However, increased screen-time has led many to report feeling “burn-out”— a state of lingering exhaustion accompanied by a feeling of lack of accomplishment. Burnout typically arises from monotonous, overwhelming and high pressure routines. 

Burnout from School-Related Stress

During the COVID-19 pandemic, most students spend between 1 to 3 hours per day watching or using a screen for online school. However, greater use of technology is associated with greater stress, anxiety and depression. Students are left with an unfair decision to make: to either compromise their performance in school or their mental health.

For online learners, higher education is also associated with higher levels of burnout. For instance, an online university student is more likely to experience high levels of burnout than an online student in junior high. One reason for this effect is that students in higher education may have more accumulated amounts of stress, due to a longer time spent in the education system. This accumulation of stress can result in decreased learning flow—an optimal state of motivation/involvement in an activity—which quickly leads to burnout.

Burnout from Work-Related Stress

Symptoms of work-induced burnout have also increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a poll of 1122 US university faculty members, 70% of respondents said they felt stressed in 2020—double the amount in 2019 (32%). In addition, more than two-thirds of respondents felt fatigued compared to less than a third in 2019. 

Work-related burnout can be attributed to several factors. Whereas positive, in-person interactions typically reduce stress, Video-call meetings cause increased fatigue. Gianpiero Petrigileri, professor of management at INSEAD explains why: “‘Our minds are tricked into the idea of being together when our bodies feel we’re not. Dissonance is exhausting”. Other researchers such as Jeremy Bailenson, director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Lab hypothesize that video-calls exhaust our nervous system. Balienson states, “The brain is particularly attentive to faces, and when we see large ones, we interpret them as being close. Our ‘fight or flight’ reflex responds”. In addition to endless video-call meetings, the constant inflow of emails can cause sensory overload, and being tasked with answering them all throughout the day, everyday, can quickly lead to burnout.

Solutions

Luckily, there are several ways that you can treat and reduce school-related/work-related burnout. 

1. Try not to perceive burnout as an internal failure. Recognize that the pandemic has come with many challenges, and it is normal to feel stressed and overwhelmed considering the circumstances. 
2. Create ways to detach from the stress. Try to find activities that are unrelated to the source of stress, such as reading a book, watching a movie, exercising or talking on the phone with a friend. You may feel like these activities will consume time that you could spend completing work, however finding time to relax and recharge is integral to reducing burnout so that you can be more productive in the future. 
3. Consider Neurofeedback Therapy. Recent studies have found that neurofeedback training has a significant positive effect on reducing burnout. Click here for more info. Other effective therapy methods include psychotherapy and somatic sensory therapy.

Resources: 

Gewin, V. (2021). Pandemic burnout is rampant in Academia. Nature, 591(7850), 489–491. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00663-2

Im, H.-J., & Lee, Y. L. (2021). A study of the relationship between learning flow and learning burnout in college online classes. Journal of Digital Convergence, 19(6), 39–46. https://doi.org/10.14400/JDC.2021.19.6.039

Mheidly, N., Fares, M. Y., & Fares, J. (2020). Coping with stress and burnout associated with telecommunication and online learning. Frontiers in Public Health, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.574969

Sunawan, S., Amin, Z. N., Sumintono, B., Hafina, A., Kholili, M. I.. (2021). The Differences of Students’ Burnout from Level of Education and Duration Daily Online Learning During COVID-19 Pandemics. IEOM Society.

When zoom fatigue becomes Zoom Burnout. The University of Edinburgh. (1970, July 7). Retrieved April 10, 2022, from https://www.ed.ac.uk/chaplaincy/blogs-podcasts-and-reflections/for-times-like-these/when-zoom-fatigue-becomes-zoom-burnout