Stop With the Video Chats Already. Just Make a Voice Call.
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Stop With the Video Chats Already. Just Make a Voice Call.

Research shows frequent videoconferences can sap your brain and deplete your energy.

By JOANNA STERN
Fri, May 28, 2021 11:13amGrey Clock 4 min

Dear colleague and/or friend:

I’d love to do a call about this. And by “call” I mean absolutely NOT a video call. Let’s do a call-call. You know, those old things where we just hear each other’s beautiful voices. Whatever you do, don’t touch that webcam.

Looking forward to (audio) chatting,

Joanna

The time has come to be bold: Stop the nonstop video calling.

Allow me to remind you of the BPE (you know, the Before-Pandemic Era), a time long ago when every call didn’t require colour-coding your bookshelf background, firing up the webcam and staring into a human tic-tac-toe board for hours on end. Video calls used to be a rare treat. Now, they’re everyday soul suckers.

Really. There’s vampirical—I mean, empirical—proof. A high frequency of video calling can cause general, social, emotional, visual and motivational fatigue, researchers at the University of Gothenburg and Stanford University found in a recent study. Even Zoom’s chief executive, Eric Yuan, says he suffers from the dreaded “Zoom Fatigue.”

Look, I’m not saying all video calling must stop. I love video calling. Instantly see and hear people with little to no delay? It’s miraculous. My mom, who is hearing-impaired, struggled throughout my childhood to hear me on the phone. Now, she can see my son wherever she is, and the visual cues help her tremendously.

I’m just saying audio calls can be more productive—and they can sound better than ever.

But how do you know when to pick voice over video? And how do you make it happen without being the meeting jerk who just refuses to turn on the camera? After talking to researchers and technologists—and cutting back on my own video calls—I present you with five steps to regain your sanity.

Step 1: Ask, should this meeting just be an email?

Fact: There are too many meetings. So I beg of you, before deciding on the technological format, simply ask: Do we really need to meet at all?

Step 2: Understand the benefits of audio vs. video

Géraldine Fauville, an assistant professor at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and the lead researcher on that aforementioned study, mapped out the main reasons video can be so cognitively draining:

• It’s a lot of looking at ourselves, which is unnatural and comes with self-evaluation and scrutiny. Called the mirror effect, this can be particularly intense for women. You can combat this with the self-hide option available in Zoom and Google Meet. Google has just added a number of features to address this specifically. Microsoft Teams’ new Together Mode was built to combat this, too.

• It’s a lot of close-up eye contact. In fact, the brain processes that sort of invasion of space as if it should lead to mating or fighting.

• It’s a lot of sitting and feeling trapped. You can’t get up and walk around during a video call.

• It’s a lot of nodding. “For you to communicate cues to the participant, you need to intensify the cues,” Dr. Fauville said. “So people nod more vigorously than if they were in the same room.”

No wonder we’re exhausted. So yes, limiting the number and length of video calls seems like the obvious answer. And as some of us kick-start the hybrid work life, that will happen naturally.

But voice calls aren’t just table scraps from our work-from-home buffet. They allow you to focus on what’s being said and give you real respite from the screen. I now do my weekly call with my boss on the phone. We reserve video for deeper conversations, like performance reviews.

I also still like to do video calls with colleagues I haven’t caught up with for a while, or for important meetings where reading facial expressions is crucial.

Step 3: Be clear it’s an audio call

You’ve decided that voice is the way to go for a call, now you’ve got to convey that to others.

Don’t waste precious meeting time having an awkward convo about this; be straight up before the call. “Hey, I’d like to do voice—no video—for this call. Work for you?” You can even put it on me: “I read this wonderful column in The Wall Street Journal about how too many video calls are bad.”

In a survey of employees, the University of California, Berkeley, found that 77% multitask during video calls. I called that out in a recent calendar invite: “Let’s do voice-only for this one,” I wrote to my colleagues. “We’re all going to cover each other’s faces with other windows on the screen anyway!” (Yep, we can see all of you, looking over at your second monitor!)

Step 4: Make the call

Even though I made my voice-call preferences known to my colleagues, I’m not just reaching for my phone. In fact, I’ve used all the big videoconferencing services—sans video. Zoom, Google Meet, Slack, FaceTime, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger all produce stable and clear calls if you have a good connection. Most sound better than cellular—especially if you have a good mic. But the best choice is however you can most easily reach your contact.

Slack has become my go-to for work. Since most of the folks already are there all day, it’s great for mimicking the quick desk drop-by. Hit the phone button and it automatically defaults to a voice call. (To add video, you have to tap the video icon.) With Slack audio use surging in the past year, the company has been piloting new group-audio features, an office variation of Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces.

Slack is also looking at ways to improve audio quality and make it easier to switch between desktop and mobile calls, Ali Rayl, the company’s vice president of product and customer experience, told me.

Call-quality-wise, FaceTime audio consistently sounds the best to me. I often talk to my editor via Apple’s service and he sounds crystal clear. The downside? Apple devices only.

Step 5: Try no-video days

“The responsibility of limiting Zoom fatigue is not just on the individuals,” Dr. Fauville told me. “We hope our findings inspire companies to rethink videoconferencing.”

So far, so good. Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser has started “Zoom-free Fridays,” a day free of internal video calls. The University of California, Berkeley, for the past year, has said no recurring meetings—of any kind—on Friday afternoons.

You may want to try a similar policy. Or at the very least start perfecting those extremely polite “You don’t want to see my face and I don’t want to see your face” emails.

Reprinted by permission of The Wall Street Journal, Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: May 26, 2021.



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Property of the week: Pecan Manor Farm at 204 Tooheys Mill Rd, Nashua

A rural retreat with a side hustle opportunity, Pecan Manor Farm near Byron is an idyllic slice of the tree change pie.

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High in Byron Bay’s coveted hinterland there is a hidden estate with more than just a charming homestead on offer. Pecan Manor Farm is a 40ha parcel of lush rolling grounds with expansive grazing lands, a dam with a private pontoon – and a thriving pecan plantation.

The original homestead was first built and owned by the Toohey brothers, who later went on to establish the iconic Tooheys Beer Company. In 2013, the property was sold to the Hogan family, who significantly renovated the home. It changed hands again in 2021, with the current owners further transforming the property.

With sandstone features, manicured hedges and a meandering driveway through established trees, Pecan Manor Farm is, in a nut shell, an enviable tree change property only half an hour from one of Australia’s hottest beach getaways.

Listed with McGrath Byron Bay Agents Tezu Harrison and Nick Dunn, the unique property at 204 Tooheys Mills Rd, Nashua is on the market with price expectations of $8 million.

“It’s a beautiful pecan estate that is so private. You drive in through a pecan forest almost and arrive up to the top of the property to discover a completely renovated old school Federation home. It’s probably one of the most beautiful 99 acres I’ve ever seen, because there are so many different aspects to it,” Mr Harrison said.

Framed by some of the region’s most impressive scenery, the grand Nashua landholding is near Tintenbar, and is 18kms to Lennox Head or 25kms to the popular beaches of Byron.

Inside the large family-friendly home, the main wing houses a choice of everyday living spaces including an open plan dining and family room, the contemporary kitchen and a separate lounge or media room.

At the heart of the footprint, the kitchen has a suite of NEFF appliances and a freestanding island bench. Both the dining and lounge areas spill out onto a full-width deck, taking in the sweeping district views and pool.

While one bedroom has an ensuite and personal deck, it’s the main bedroom that is a retreat in every sense of the word. Separated via a gallery-style hallway, the primary suite is its own wing with a large deck, a bath ensuite overlooking the lush landscape, and a walk-in wardrobe.

Thanks to the multiple alfresco spaces, there is a place for everyone in all seasons, especially by the pool either on the timber sun deck or in the cosy cabana complete with its own fireplace.

Guests can stay with plenty of privacy in the freestanding barn, or the extra self-contained space could be used as a short term rental or office generating additional income. Aptly named The Barn, this bonus accommodation features a full kitchen with breakfast bar, a bathroom, living area and separate bedroom.

Throughout the home there are high ceilings, timber floors, intricate chandeliers, ducted air-conditioning. The property also has six large machinery sheds, offering ample scope for further agricultural pursuits.

Flowing along the property’s edge, Skinners Creek further sets the scene, while the location delivers the best of both worlds – Tintenbar General Store and local school are just 10 minutes away, while the popular Harvest Newrybar café is a 15-minute drive with Lennox Head and Ballina/Byron Airport also easily accessible.

Pecan Manor Estate is listed with Tezu Harrison on 0448 000 234 and Nick Dunn on 0448 301 111 of McGrath Estate Agents Byron Bay and is on the market with a price guide of $8 million.

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