Abstract
Virtual meetings are now a permanent part of modern work life. For people with ADHD, the setup of these meetings matters a lot. This study explored whether different Zoom-style layouts (gallery view vs. presenter mode) contribute to burnout.
It found that ADHD employees who regularly used gallery view reported more burnout than those who used presenter mode, even when meeting time was held constant. The reason? Gallery view overloads the brain with too many simultaneous faces and cues, while presenter mode provides a clearer focus point. A simple change in screen setup may help protect against burnout.
Cognitive Load Theory
Think of your brain’s attention as a battery with limited charge. Every task drains a little, but some situations drain it faster. Cognitive load theory explains this using three kinds of “load”:
- Intrinsic load – how hard the task itself is.
- Extraneous load – the energy used to block out distractions.
- Germane load – the effort to make sense of new information.
Gallery view increases extraneous load. It’s like standing in a crowded room where everyone is talking at once while you’re trying to listen to one voice. Your brain has to work much harder to filter, especially if you’re already sensitive to distractions. Presenter mode, on the other hand, reduces the noise by highlighting just one speaker.
ADHD
ADHD isn’t about being “lazy” or “disorganized.” It’s about how the brain regulates dopamine — the brain chemical that motivates attention. Instead of reliably releasing dopamine when a task is completed, ADHD brains respond more to things that are new, stimulating, or personally interesting.
This means:
- Staying focused on boring tasks often takes extra effort, like pedaling uphill.
- In stimulating situations, hyperfocus can kick in, allowing hours of intense concentration — but with little sense of time passing.
- ADHDers often multitask across chats and apps to keep stimulation flowing.
- Impulse control challenges (blurting out, fidgeting) can feel especially exhausting in environments where you’re expected to sit still and “look professional.”
In the workplace, ADHDers thrive with creativity, communication, and passion — but they’re also more vulnerable to burnout, especially when environments don’t support their needs.
Burnout
Burnout is a state of deep exhaustion — emotional, physical, and mental. It shows up as:
- Constant fatigue
- Feeling detached from your work
- Drop in productivity and satisfaction
- A sense of being stuck or disillusioned
For ADHDers, burnout hits harder because the same skills that are already effortful (planning, organizing, regulating attention) are the ones most taxed by stressful workplaces. Without accommodations, everyday tasks drain more energy and recovery is slower.
Workplace Meeting Burnout
Meetings take up huge chunks of work life — often 10–32 hours per week. That’s nearly a full-time job inside your full-time job. Research shows meetings can be energizing if well-run, but also exhausting when poorly designed.
For ADHDers, the constant impulse control required in in-person meetings (sitting still, filtering distractions, resisting urges to move or speak) is especially draining. The more unnecessary or low-value meetings pile up, the greater the risk of burnout.
Online Meeting Burnout (Zoom Fatigue)
The pandemic turned video meetings into the default. They’ve saved time and increased access, but they’ve also created a new kind of exhaustion: Zoom fatigue.
Why are video calls so draining?
- Multiple faces at once → like watching 20 TV channels at the same time.
- Lag and reduced nonverbal cues → your brain has to work harder to interpret subtle signals.
- Staring at your own face → constant self-monitoring, which humans were never meant to do.
- Restricted movement → sitting still at a screen for hours.
For ADHDers, whose attention systems are already more sensitive to overload, gallery view intensifies these effects. It creates a storm of stimuli — every face equally loud — while presenter mode offers a calmer, single-focus channel.
Method
The study surveyed 522 workers from different industries. About 1 in 6 had an ADHD diagnosis. Participants answered questions about:
- Their typical meeting setup (gallery or presenter view)
- Time spent in meetings each week (face-to-face and virtual)
- Their level of burnout
Burnout was measured with a validated 10-item scale. Meeting time variables were adjusted statistically to handle skewed responses.
Results
Two main findings stood out:
- Face-to-face meetings were more strongly linked to burnout in ADHDers than in non-ADHD workers. This suggests that the social pressure and impulse suppression of in-person meetings may be especially taxing.
- Gallery view vs. presenter mode: ADHD employees using gallery mode reported higher burnout than those using presenter mode. This effect held even when researchers balanced the data in different ways.
So, while the amount of virtual meeting time itself didn’t directly predict burnout, how the screen was configured did.
Discussion
The researchers highlighted two big insights:
- Face-to-face meetings: For ADHDers, these can be exhausting because there’s no option to “hide” — every fidget, every slip of attention feels visible. In virtual meetings, turning off your camera or muting gives some flexibility. This means organizations should be thoughtful: use in-person meetings only when interaction truly requires it.
- Gallery view vs. presenter mode: Gallery view amplifies distractions. For ADHDers, it’s like being asked to juggle while reading a book — attention splinters and energy drains faster. Presenter mode provides relief by spotlighting one focus point. This small design tweak could have a big impact on well-being.
The authors also noted a possibility: people already burned out might choose gallery view as a form of seeking stimulation. More research is needed, but for now, the safe bet is that presenter mode reduces strain.
Limitations & Future Directions
- ADHD was self-reported (no clinical testing in the study).
- Only two meeting view options were studied (real-life use may be more fluid).
- Future research should explore hybrid options, switching between views, or using asynchronous tools instead of meetings altogether.
Conclusion
For ADHD employees, meeting design matters as much as meeting time.
- Too many in-person meetings can push them toward burnout faster than their neurotypical peers.
- Virtual meetings are not automatically better — gallery view creates a storm of distractions that ramps up fatigue.
- Presenter mode offers a simple, actionable way to reduce strain and support focus.
Organizations that understand these differences can help neurodivergent employees thrive by rethinking default meeting practices.
Key Takeaways
- ADHD brains use more energy to filter distractions. Gallery view in virtual meetings overloads this system, leading to faster burnout.
- Face-to-face meetings are uniquely taxing for ADHDers because of constant social monitoring and impulse suppression.
- Presenter mode is protective. It reduces extraneous distractions, letting ADHD employees preserve energy and attention.
- Quantity of virtual meetings isn’t the main problem. The quality and design of those meetings matter more.
- Workplaces can make simple changes (limiting unnecessary face-to-face meetings, encouraging presenter mode) that significantly reduce ADHD burnout risk.
References
Kelly, S., Kim, J., Winchester, D., Choi, J. H., & Foresman, G. (2025). Zooming in on burnout: How virtual meeting technology affects workplace burnout for individuals with ADHD. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2531292