Zoom conferences hinder creativity

Zoom and its associated problems, such as crashes during important discussions and the fear of accidentally turning on the camera while you are sitting without pants, have a negative impact on the creativity of employees. This is evidenced by a new scientific article, publishedVirtual communication curbs creative idea generation / Nature in the journal Nature.

It is based on the results of a study by scientists from Stanford and Columbia Universities. The researchers recruited more than 600 volunteers, who were paired up to solve a creative challenge. Some couples were in the same room, others communicated via Zoom.

The couples had five minutes to come up with creative uses for the frisbee or bubble wrap and one minute to choose the best idea. Independent judges were invited to evaluate the creativity of the different options. They determined that using a Frisbee to knock fruit off a tree was more creative than carrying food on it like it was on a plate. It is noted that those who worked in Zoom, on average, had 20% fewer ideas than those who met face to face.

The same effect was observed in the field study. The authors analyzed ideas for new products created by 1,490 engineers for a multinational company. Engineers located in Finland, Hungary, India, Israel and Portugal were randomly divided into couples and gave them about an hour to brainstorm products - in person or via video conference webex. Then they chose the best idea.

The researchers note that the engineers were able to come up with more ideas (and more innovative ones) when they worked face to face. But in the selection of the best ideas from the set of proposed ones, both teams showed themselves equally well.

Further observations helped to explain this effect. Scientists have found that people who carefully examined the room and paid attention to unusual objects showed more creative results. In Zoom conferences, the eye is usually fixed on the face of the speaker, which inhibits creative thinking.

Study co-author Melanie Brooks advised employees to try to meet in person to discuss creative challenges. If this is not possible, it is worth taking your eyes off the screen and shifting your focus to the surrounding objects to reflect on ideas.