Virtual Fatigue or #ZoomGloom in a Teleservices World: 3 Tips for Social Work Supervisors
by Dr. Veronica L. Hardy, LCSW
The use of video teleconferencing to engage and provide services has significantly increased throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether you are a policy analyst, social work educator, school social work professional, or clinical service provider, chances are more of your social work-related interactions are occurring through tools including Zoom, Skype Meet Now, Cisco Webex, Bluejeans, or Google Meet. Those interactions may range from department meetings and group facilitation to connecting with students quarantining or delivering conferences and trainings.
Because of the sudden increase in virtual engagement, many may be experiencing a sense of virtual fatigue—a form of occupational stress resulting in emotional and physical exhaustion from constant engagement with video conferencing. This type of fatigue has been highlighted across social media under hashtags “Zoom Fatigue” or “Zoom Gloom.” However, social workers in supervisory roles are in key positions to address virtual fatigue within the workplace. According to the NASW and ASWB Best Practice Standards in Social Work Supervision document, supervision is a diverse role encompassing “administrative, educational, and supportive” strategies that contribute to the enhanced functioning of social work professionals. Below are a few ways supervisors can help alleviate virtual fatigue in the workplace.
Legal and Ethical Practice Training
Many social workers may feel a sense of discomfort when providing video conferencing services. There may be questions, such as: Am I facilitating the virtual service in an ethical manner? Am I practicing in alignment with legal obligations? Does the way I am delivering the service allow privacy and confidentiality? The NASW Code of Ethics standard 1.07(m) states:
Social workers should take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of electronic communications, including information provided to clients or third parties. Social workers should use applicable safeguards (such as encryption, firewalls, and passwords) when using electronic communications such as e-mail, online posts, online chat sessions, mobile communication, and text messages.
As a supervisor, you can provide insight and training that may help to alleviate concerns social work professionals hold pertaining to providing virtual services. An article published by NASW, Telemental Health: Legal Considerations for Social Workers by General Counsel Anne Camper and Associate General Counsel Elizabeth Felton, highlights considerations that could be included in a training. These include malpractice insurance, informed consent, HIPAA compliance, privacy, and confidentiality.
Be Selective
At a time when I was receiving business coaching, I engaged in a discussion about the use of social media. During the session, we highlighted the importance of being selective about the amount and type of social media accounts I held. As a result, I learned to primarily focus on the social media tools that were in alignment with my goals. This same idea can be implemented by supervisors in the workplace. In realizing social work employees are flooded with participating in video conferencing activities, being selective about which activities require “screen time” may alleviate virtual fatigue. For example, could a phone call replace logging in for a one-to-one Zoom meeting? Could departmental information and updates be distributed through email or newsletters versus during a meeting? Overall, be discerning about which activities may require video conferencing methods and which can be facilitated through other means.
Time Matters
According to an article published by the National Institutes of Health titled Working through COVID-19: ‘Zoom’ gloom and ‘Zoom’ fatigue by Nerys Williams, meetings held via video conferencing are more taxing than traditional face-to-face meetings. Being on camera for long periods of time and staring at information or images on the screen may contribute to difficulty focusing, eye strain, or physical discomfort.
As a supervisor, your responsibilities may include facilitating group and individual meetings with employees throughout the week. Therefore, consider integrating breaks during meetings, encourage employees to take breaks from being on camera by turning their video off, or integrate movement or relaxation activities into the video conferencing meetings. Further, multiple meetings within the same day or during a certain part of the day may contribute to fatigue. Consider ways to avoid compacting multiple meetings within the same day so employees are not overwhelmed.
The period of the pandemic has led to increased virtual interactions. However, the number of virtual interactions may contribute to issues including stress and burnout in the workplace. Supervisors are in a great position to take charge of when video conferencing meetings are needed, exploring alternate methods of connecting, exploring ways employees can take breaks, and training employees about legal and ethical teleservice practices. All of these methods are helpful toward alleviating virtual fatigue in the workplace.
Are there more ideas you can think of to promote a healthy work environment in a teleservices world?
Dr. Veronica L. Hardy, LCSW, is a Professor of Social Work at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Dr. Hardy is a social justice advocate, professional consultant, author, and mentor to new social workers and junior faculty members. She is the creator of The Social Work Lounge, a mentorship group facilitated via Facebook.