Zoom boom is giving employees a pain in the throat

WORKING from home has its upsides – but the rise in video conference calls is not one of them.

Now it seems they are proving a pain in more ways than one with workers suffering sore throats because they are having to raise their voices during Zoom meetings.

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin surveyed 1,575 people on the number of times they have suffered from a hoarse voice or vocal tract discomfort since the coronavirus restrictions began, with a third of those quizzed saying they had developed issues.

The study’s lead author, Ciarán Kenny said the research indicates that workplaces should consider voice training for employees.

Out of the 1,575 people surveyed, 516 reported issues with their throats at the time the research was completed on June 19.

Of that subset, 86% said they had no issues with their throat before pandemic restrictions were introduced.

The widespread introduction of home working may have led to much of the workforce being placed at higher risk of developing occupational voice problems and associated vocal tract discomfort, the researchers said.

The change to increased online and telephone communication may cause people to speak more than if they were in the office.

‘This study was predicated upon the fact that difficulties may be encountered while working from home, rather than in a regular workplace environment,’ researchers said. ‘It was therefore notable that increasing telephone and video use compared to the prelockdown period was also associated with new onset vocal tract discomfort.’

The research has been published in the Journal of Voice.