Zoom has taken steps internally to help combat what is becoming known as ‘Zoom fatigue’, according to CFO Kelly Steckelberg.
Speaking to CNBC, she said that the UC provider, which has become a household name for remote working over the last year, is aware of the impact that back-to-back video meetings can have on employees – particularly during a time when homeworking is the only option for many.
“We certainly understand that being on video all day long can be challenging and we’ve spent a lot of time working with our own internal employees to help them understand how to optimise and take a break during the day.
“Maybe they can take one of their meetings and go outside on a walk, or set their meetings for 25 or 55 minutes so that it gives them a little break.
“I think what we are all suffering from is [missing] that break that we all used to get walking from room to room. Now you jump from meeting to meeting and it takes literally seconds.”
The CFO was speaking just after Citibank declared Fridays “Zoom free” to help employees deal with Zoom fatigue.
She added that some workers are also struggling with not have the bookend of a commute at the start and end of each day to transition between work and personal time. She said that Zoom is encouraging employees to lock in firm time boundaries to help combat that and not let work and family time blur together.
“All of this leads to all of us finder that better balance in our lives that we may have been challenged with over the last year,” she said.
Steckelberg was also quizzed on how Zoom plans to stay relevant as vaccinations continue globally, stating that Zoom Phone is set to become an important component of companies’ hybrid strategy.
She claimed that Zoom will stay ahead of competitors such as Webex and Teams by keeping its platform simple to use and continuing to innovate with its portfolio.
