Microsoft has done a lot of research on the effects of back-to-back online meetings, and the results don't look good. As such, the software giant is adding a new feature to Outlook that can add mandatory break times to scheduled meetings.

Microsoft's New Meeting Breaks in Outlook.

As reported on Microsoft WorkLab, the company wants to help everyone visit the restroom or make themselves a cup of tea or coffee before the next meeting.

Previously, Outlook took an approach that allowed organizers to make meetings start and end on the hour. It made sense at the time because if someone wants to host an hour-long meeting, they typically set it on the hour and have it end on the hour.

The problems begin when someone schedules multiple meetings back-to-back. Because these meetings start and end on the hour by default, attendees didn't have time to take a break or sort themselves out. As soon as one meeting ended, another would be scheduled to start at the exact same time.

Now, Outlook allows an organization to set a mandatory break time after a meeting. The break times are customizable to suit a business's needs and prevent two meetings from being scheduled back-to-back without giving the attendees a chance to take a break.

Why Microsoft Is Advocating Breaks in Meetings

The coronavirus pandemic caused a huge shift in the business world. Suddenly, organizations had to recreate a resemblance of the normal office life while everyone was stuck at home in lockdown.

As such, a new era of voice and video meetings began. Calling each other over services like Microsoft Teams quickly replaced the in-person meeting, and it radically changed how businesses got their work done.

Microsoft even considered building metrics to monitor how an online business would go. One proposed update would have Microsoft Teams check how bored attendees look and advise the organizers on how to make their meetings better.

However, back-to-back online meetings became the new norm. And, as Microsoft explored in the article above, doing so causes attendees to feel more stress and lose focus. That's why the software giant is pushing to add mandatory breaks to online meetings.

Making Remote Work Less Exhausting

Microsoft's studies have shown that going to meetings back-to-back takes a huge mental toll on its attendees. Now, organizations can set mandatory break times after meetings to allow employees to recover and prepare for the next.

Did you know that this particular mental state has an unofficial name? It's called "Zoom fatigue," and you can beat it by taking breaks and hiding your webcam every so often.

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