Zoom Fatigue and Facial Dissatisfaction Relate to Virtual Meeting Engagement Differently in the U.S. and South Korean Contexts

Virtual meetings, facilitated through videoconferencing or virtual reality, have become a common form of workplace communication. Despite the advantages these meetings offer, enabling collaboration among workers in dispersed locations, the phenomenon of virtual meeting fatigue, commonly referred to as Zoom fatigue, has emerged as a significant concern. This study explores whether facial appearance dissatisfaction, a known contributor to Zoom fatigue, leads to reduced engagement in virtual meeting interactions by mediating the role of Zoom fatigue. Furthermore, this study examines the impact of facial dissatisfaction and Zoom fatigue on virtual meeting engagement cross-culturally, within the contexts of South Korea and the United States. The findings indicate that in the United States, facial dissatisfaction led to a lower level of virtual meeting engagement through the mediating role of Zoom fatigue, while in South Korea, facial dissatisfaction negatively impacted virtual meeting engagement regardless of Zoom fatigue levels. Additionally, we reveal that Zoom fatigue and facial dissatisfaction are more pronounced among U.S. women than U.S. men, but differences were not observed between South Korean women and men. These results underscore the influence of societal competitiveness, as seen in South Korea, on impression management concerns in technology-mediated work environments. We highlight the importance of developing virtual meeting features to mitigate facial dissatisfaction and Zoom fatigue, thereby enhancing engagement in virtual interactions.