Tristan discusses why you’re meeting more and what to do about it. Remote work has increased the number of meetings on everyone’s calendars, contributing to longer working days. A report from Reclaim.ai found that workers now spend 25.3% more time in meetings compared to February 2020. Furthermore, the report also found that employees spend 308.8% more time in one-on-one meetings. So the question is, what can we do? Listen to the tip to find out!
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TRANSCRIPT
Tristan: What’s going on, Living Corporate? It’s Tristan, and I want to thank you for tapping back in with me as I provide some tips and advice for professionals. Today, let’s discuss why you’re meeting more and what to do about it.
While there have been reports that working from home has increased overall productivity, there needs to be a more nuanced analysis. According to the Harvard Business School, the average workday for someone who works from home has increased by 8.2 percent or 48.5 minutes. Remote work has increased the number of meetings on everyone’s calendars, contributing to these longer working days. A report from Reclaim.ai found that workers now spend 25.3% more time in meetings compared to February 2020. Furthermore, the report also found that employees spend 308.8% more time in one-on-one meetings.
Another interesting fact that came out of the report is that these meetings were rescheduled 42.4% of the time and canceled 29.6% of the time. While that seems like a simple task, it has a significant impact on productivity and employee happiness. So, the question is, what can we do?
The first thing you can do is to try to reduce the number of one-on-one meetings that you put your and your coworker’s calendars. Utilize messaging and collaboration tools like Slack to conduct follow-ups and provide updates. Incorporate project management tools like Trello, ClickUp, or Monday.com to track project status and hold yourself and your coworkers accountable.
Another thing you can do is to ensure your meeting does not run over. I suggest setting a timer for 5 minutes less than the length of your meeting to provide you and whomever you are meeting with time to wrap up and ensure everyone has their takeaways. When the first timer goes off, remember to set another timer for 5 minutes to ensure you always end the meeting on time.
Something else that I’ve found helpful in cutting back on meetings or the length of meetings is reverting back to phone calls or conference calls for meetings that don’t require the attendees or me to share our screens. The meetings tend to be shorter, and participants tend to be more engaged.
Lastly, if you must meet on zoom, try to turn off your webcam if you’re able to and your workplace allows. A 4-week study done by the University of Arizona Eller College of Management found that people were more likely to focus on the content of the meetings when the webcam was turned off. They found that when cameras were on, attendees were more likely to concentrate on their own faces and expressions rather than the content of the meeting.
Try to do your part to decrease the number of meetings on everyone’s calendars. Before scheduling a meeting, ask yourself, is this meeting necessary? What am I trying to accomplish? And are the alternative ways for me to convey or seek out this information?
This tip is brought to you by Tristan of Layfield Resume Consulting. Check us out on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @layfieldresume, or connect with me, Tristan Layfield, on LinkedIn.
