The Relationship Between Virtual Meeting Burnout and Perceived Workplace Productivity in a Logistics Company During the Pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19 severely affected workplace functions. To adapt, companies opted to use virtual meetings (VM) as a channel for communication. Within this new environment, Virtual Meeting Burnout (VMB) has emerged. This study uses a descriptive quantitative approach. The major objective of the study is to determine the relationship between VMB and perceived workplace productivity (PWP) among employees in a logistics company during the pandemic year 2022. The study tackles the specific objectives of (1) defining the contributing factors to VMB, (2) determining the correlation between VMB and PWP, and (3) analyzing the direction and degree of correlation between VMB and PWP. Gmail and Google Forms were utilized to conduct the study. The study focuses on a logistics company because of its employees’ experience utilizing VM as a main mode of communication for work-related activities in 2022. The Zoom Exhaustion and Fatigue (ZEF), Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), and Brief Instrument to Assess Workers’ Productivity During a Working Day Scale (IATP) instruments were used to gather data. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and descriptive statistics were used in the analysis. The results revealed that there is a significant relationship between VMB and PWP. Motivational and visual factors contribute most to the increase of VMB. A strong negative correlation was found between VMB and PWP, indicating that PWP decreases as VMB increases. This implies that virtual meetings are perceived more as a job demand than a job resource in a logistics company. The study contributes to the emerging body of knowledge in this field and helps a logistics company create a more efficient and desirable workplace by maximizing the full potential of virtual meetings as a communication channel.