Do Zoom meetings affect creativity? Maybe!

Zoom meetings became the lifeblood of many workplaces during the pandemic, but a new study points to a downside: They may limit employees’ capacity for creative thinking.

In experiments with workers in several countries, researchers found two broad phenomenon: Coworkers tended to be less adept at generating creative ideas when they communicated by video. But virtual meetings did not harm — and may have actually helped — their ability to zero in and make decisions.

The takeaway, experts said, is that all this workplace Zooming is neither good nor bad. But certain job tasks may be better suited to virtual communication than others.

One major difference is the physical environment. When coworkers are in the same room, they can feel free to look around, to essentially let their eyes and minds wander. And wandering is good when it comes to creative thinking.

In contrast, video conferencing creates a different “shared environment.” People tend to confine their visual focus to the computer screen, which also narrows their “cognitive focus.” Virtual workplace meetings may foster efficiency, but creativity does better with in-person meetings.

Source: Health Day News