Work meetings can be useful for brainstorming ideas, disseminating important information, aiding decision-making or improving culture. But many employees today are feeling overwhelmed by excessive meeting invites, unannounced check-ins, “quick” chats and company updates.
Almost one in 10 employees spends more than 15 hours per week in virtual or in-person meetings, and nearly one in five (18%) spends more than 10 hours per week in meetings. That’s according to a survey of 1,000 UK professionals by Raconteur, in partnership with Attest.
For Daniel Harris, director for London and the South East at Robert Walters, a recruitment firm, the findings are alarming. “They indicate a significant loss in productivity for a substantial portion of the workforce – and that’s a cost UK employers simply cannot afford,” he says.
It’s not just that frequent meetings can distract workers from their core job responsibilities, Harris warns. Excessive check-ins can also damage company culture and stymie communication.
Liz Sebag-Montefiore, co-founder and director of 10Eighty, a talent-management consultancy, agrees. “Meeting overload is more than just a time drain, it’s a culture killer. It can lead to burnout, stifle productivity and crowd out time for deep work and innovation.” It could even indicate a lack of clear communication, trust or effective decision-making processes across the organisation, she adds.
Meeting hangovers
Employees who spend too much time in meetings often feel demotivated, unproductive, stressed out and less focused long after their meetings end. Steven Rogelberg, a professor at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte and author of The Surprising Science of Meetings, calls this phenomenon a ‘meeting hangover’, and about 90% of workers in the US and UK experience it at least some of the time.
Meeting overload is more than just a time drain, it’s a culture killer
Dr Hans Rusenik, a lecturer at the University of St. Gallen who specialises in meaningful work, believes that a “paradox of connectivity” is responsible for the increase in meetings, check-ins and the like. Although remote-work tools have enabled teams to communicate more easily, he argues that the quality of conversations has declined.
Rusenik says, thanks in part to remote working, meetings and spontaneous interruptions have become more frequent since the pandemic. He cites research showing that, while office workers are interrupted by a notification every four minutes of the working day, it can take up to nine minutes to regain focus after an interruption. “This doesn’t add up and it is extremely frustrating on the receiving end,” he says.
Sebag-Montefiore suggests managers should carefully consider whether a meeting is necessary before booking it in and cancel any recurring meetings that are no longer fit for purpose. They should also encourage staff to create blocks of time in their calendars where no meetings can be scheduled.
She also recommends limiting the standard length of meetings to ensure that the discussions remain focused. “Every meeting should have a clear agenda and desired result. If it doesn’t, it shouldn’t happen,” she says.
The majority of employees prefer meetings to be held in person, according to Raconteur’s survey, but just under a third (29.5%) favour virtual meetings. “Video calls are helpful in allowing colleagues from different locations to dial in, yet owing to an increased chance of distractions, they often dilute the functionality of meetings, especially those which require active feedback,” Harris explains.
Leaders whose teams are suffering from meeting overload can make just a few simple changes to help resuscitate employee engagement and productivity. “Addressing this problem isn’t just about saving time,” Sebag-Montefiore says. “It’s about respecting people’s attention and autonomy, and creating a culture of trust and efficiency.”
Work meetings can be useful for brainstorming ideas, disseminating important information, aiding decision-making or improving culture. But many employees today are feeling overwhelmed by excessive meeting invites, unannounced check-ins, "quick" chats and company updates.
Almost one in 10 employees spends more than 15 hours per week in virtual or in-person meetings, and nearly one in five (18%) spends more than 10 hours per week in meetings. That's according to a survey of 1,000 UK professionals by Raconteur, in partnership with Attest.
For Daniel Harris, director for London and the South East at Robert Walters, a recruitment firm, the findings are alarming. “They indicate a significant loss in productivity for a substantial portion of the workforce – and that's a cost UK employers simply cannot afford,” he says.
