Before asking your team to hop on the 10th call of the day, read this article to see if meeting overload could be rearing its ugly head in your workplace.
Let’s be honest for a second, most of us aren’t too fond of meetings (especially long ones), but they are necessary for things to move in a workplace. That said, let me give you a scenario. Blink twice if it sounds like you.
It’s 2 o’clock. You barely had enough time to enjoy your lunch break because one of the three meetings you attended in the morning was extended. You already have two more calls waiting for you in the afternoon and most of the tasks you were supposed to work on today are still untouched. By the time the day is done, you’re mentally drained, physically exhausted, and feeling unproductive.
Your schedule for the week is jam-packed with more meetings than solid blocks of work time and every time you look at it, you can feel the productivity and creativity leaving your body. You might even feel hesitant to participate and irritable with your colleagues at work. If this sounds familiar, you might be experiencing meeting overload.
Defining meeting overload
Meeting overload is exactly what it sounds like - too many meetings or unnecessarily long meetings that can hijack employee work-life balance and morale. Having excessive work meetings can kill employee productivity and take away valuable time that could be used to complete critical tasks - causing people to work overtime. Meeting overload also leads to mental drain and burnout in employees.
In this increasingly digital age of hybrid and remote work, with apps like Zoom and Google Meets, meeting overload is at an all-time high. You can easily schedule and attend meetings from anywhere, including large group meetings that might be unnecessary for everyone to attend. It’s no surprise that many employees will often multitask during these virtual meetings just to maximize their time and keep up with their workloads.
Negative effects of meeting overload
Financial loss
Meeting overload doesn’t just affect the employees, the toll it takes can also financially impact the company down the line. Every unnecessary meeting an employee attends will end up wasting money for the company in the form of time not spent working on more urgent matters.
Unsatisfied teams
Aside from the financial effects, meeting overload can also impact employee well-being. This study by transcription company, Otter.ai showed that 83% of employees accept meeting invitations but secretly want to decline 31% of them. Instead, they end up only declining 14% of these meeting invitations. As a result, the surveyed employees felt unhappy and cited feelings of annoyance and frustration during meetings.
70% of these employees reported multitasking during their meetings to compensate for lost time and 45% turned off their audio and/or video. 86% reported that they got more work done during long and uninterrupted blocks of time. Basically, employees want fewer meetings.
How to deal with meeting overload in the workplace
So how many meetings are too many? Unfortunately, there is no solid answer. Some industries require more meetings than others, particularly when dealing with clients one-on-one. Therefore, the amount of time spent in meetings can differ based on the job.
Business experts suggest spending a maximum of 20% of your work time in recurring meetings as a rule of thumb. This translates into 8 hours of meetings for every 40-hour work week. So if you find yourself spending an unreasonable amount of time in meetings, then something needs to be done. Here are some steps to take to mitigate meeting overload.
1. Schedule company-wide meeting-free time
Set aside specific days when you don’t schedule meetings to give everyone some much-needed time to actually get stuff done. Giving your team one or two “meeting-free” days weekly will boost employee satisfaction at work by allowing them to feel more independent at work and reducing stress.
Lots of companies, like Asana, are already implementing meeting-free days to allow their employees to have a couple of free days to concentrate on work uninterrupted. If you feel like you’re drowning in meetings, try to schedule some “you time” and see how it influences your work life for the better.
2. Speak up
Sometimes meetings can drag on and end up being longer than necessary, which can be time-inefficient. If a meeting is extended for too long, say something. Ask if there is anything else that requires discussion (be polite but firm, of course). If not, suggest ending the meeting early so everyone can resume work.
Shorter meetings of 15–25 minutes will actually be more efficient for everyone attending and increase productivity. This allows employees who are under pressure to perform better since they will have greater stimulation and focus levels during short meetings.
Meetings don’t have to be long for them to be productive - less is more in this case. So if you feel like meetings are starting to overload, speak up and recommend ways to streamline them. I’m sure everyone will be thankful for this.
3. Establish limits
When you’re always being bombarded with work meetings, it can be hard to stay on top of everything. You can deal with meeting overload by establishing limits on your recurring meetings and blocking out time on your calendar for essential tasks. This allows you to only attend meetings that are necessary.
Also, don’t feel obligated to attend every company meeting. I know, I know...the meeting FOMO will hit you hard, especially since most employers have been conditioned to measure employee commitment and productivity through meeting attendance. You can overcome these fears by showing your engagement and value outside meetings. For example, you might be more at ease declining a meeting invite if you share your input before the meeting or follow up with the host afterwards.
Limit yourself to one or two recurring meetings every week to focus on more important things and free up your personal time to enjoy a healthier work-life balance.
Slack executives even implemented a calendar bankruptcy policy where they got rid of all recurring and one-on-one meetings from their calendars to reconsider each and only add back necessary meetings. This helps company leaders become more intentional about the time they take up on employees’ calendars.
4. Use tech software to your advantage
After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations had to depend heavily on remote work and online meetings to stay productive and connected. However, the shift to virtual work settings also had its challenges, including Zoom fatigue, characterized by eye strain, irritability, and feelings of exhaustion after spending too much time on video calls.
You can prevent Zoom fatigue from meeting overload by recording your meetings to listen back later and only focus on the most relevant parts. This also allows you to take breaks as you listen so you don’t miss anything important. Zoom’s Smart Recordings feature can be helpful for this by using machine learning to split recorded Zoom meetings into chapters so it’s easier to review.
If you have teams in different time zones, it can be difficult to schedule a meeting time that works for each employee. Holding asynchronous meetings for employees to join when it’s convenient, allows them to share feedback via video recordings, instant messaging, and email. This helps team members contribute to meetings at their own pace, in their own time when they are ready.
The Slack messaging platform has introduced these asynchronous collaboration features allowing people to share screen, voice, and video recordings. This means you can easily record voice clips and videos and upload them to a channel so others can watch and comment on them at their convenience. You never have to worry about getting everyone on the same page or coordinating schedules again for a meeting.
5. Find meeting alternatives
You don’t have to hold a meeting every time you need to have a conversation with someone about work-related matters. It is possible to convey your message fully and accurately via email. In fact, this communication medium will help other team members refer to the subject matter later, which is impossible with conventional meetings unless they’re recorded.
You can schedule a short five-minute phone call instead of a 30-minute meeting. See how much time you could save? Also, there’s the option of walking to a colleague’s desk and quickly hashing out a work matter without adding to your schedule.
Conclusion
Meeting overload can take over your schedule and your work life without you realizing where the day has gone and why your to-do list has barely been touched. By using the above tips to manage it, you can work towards cleaner calendars, more effective interactions, and communication habits.
