We have numerous meetings each week that could have been an email.

New research from Microsoft reveals the extent to which our work schedules have gone out of hand: Since February 2020, people have attended three times as many Microsoft Teams meetings and calls per week at work, marking a staggering 192% increase. The most frequent Teams users devote nearly 8 hours, equivalent to an entire workday, each week solely to online meetings.

Inefficient Meeting as the Top Distraction in Productivity 

During the pandemic, remote work eliminated chances for spontaneous in-office interactions, increasing meetings. Three years later, companies are attempting to address this issue by making in-person and virtual meetings more effective and less frequent.

According to Colette Stallbaumer, the general manager for Microsoft 365 and the "future of work" at Microsoft, meetings are not the problem as their fundamental purpose, such as brainstorming new ideas, keeping employees informed about important company updates, or involving them in decision-making, can contribute to employee engagement. When meetings are long, poorly organized, and lack a clear objective, they become stressful for employees and their managers.

Inefficient meetings rank as the top workplace distraction affecting productivity, closely followed by having an excessive number of meetings, according to a Microsoft survey of 31,000 workers worldwide conducted between February and March 2023.

The Downside of Having Too Many Meetings

The constant stream of meetings is tiring workers out and leaving them with inadequate time for deep work, which involves focusing intensely on tasks without any distractions, Stallbaumer explains.

When asked what makes meetings valuable, workers stated that their primary reason for attending is to receive important information that can improve their job performance and provide and receive feedback from their colleagues. However, 58% of the respondents find it challenging to brainstorm during virtual meetings, 57% catch up if they join late, and 55% also feel that the action items following a meeting are often unclear.

How to Fight "Meeting Fatigue"?

Stallbaumer emphasizes that workers can only do so much to combat "meeting fatigue," stressing that business leaders must set the tone and establish clear expectations for how meetings are conducted. Meetings should enhance employees' well-being and productivity rather than drain them.

To improve meeting efficiency, Stallbaumer suggests that companies use recordings, email scheduling assistants, instant messaging, and AI-powered transcripts to give employees more flexibility in how and when they participate in meetings.

READ ALSO: Navigating "Zoom Fatigue," Expert Tips for Remote Workers

Benefits of Having No Meetings

Some companies are beginning to envision a meeting-free future. TechSmith, a software development company in Michigan, experimented with a month without meetings in July 2022 using asynchronous communication tools like Slack, Trello, and email to collaborate across teams. During this period, remote employees reported feeling 15% more productive, and 85% said they would consider using asynchronous communication instead of meetings in the future.

The month-long experiment resulted in lasting changes, according to TechSmith CEO Wendy Hamilton, speaking to FastCompany in February. More teams are skipping regular meetings and opting for asynchronous updates, such as sharing pre-recorded PowerPoint presentations. The first five minutes of synchronous meetings are set aside for optional small talk and catching up to keep the sense of in-person collaboration. Employees not interested in this part can join the meeting five minutes after it officially begins.

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