American workers are unhappy with the work meetings they have to attend.
According to a new report released by virtual meeting platform “Mmhmm,” about 93% US workers don’t like the way company’s typical meetings are set up—another 45% say their meetings are unnecessarily long.
“Many employees are returning to the office and, tragically, finding that meetings are just as painful as ever,” the report states. “Nearly half (47%) of workers say that more than half the meetings they attend could be canceled and a quarter (25%) say more than half of their meetings are useless.”
The report continues: “Workers would rather be doing…anything else. Half (50%) of workers would rather send an email/text, voice or video message instead of having a meeting. 42% of workers say the highlight of a work meeting is if it’s canceled, and yet 43% of workers don’t feel empowered to suggest canceling meetings.”
This sentiment may bode badly for employers aiming to boost productivity amongst their team members.
As previously reported by ESSENCE, data shows that workers are not actually working due to arduous meetings.
In an April 2022 report, Asana revealed that its survey results and research found that less than 10% of respondents’ working day is spent doing actual strategic work outside of meetings.
“The unprecedented disruption of the pandemic has fundamentally shifted the way we live, including re-thinking work and our relationship with it,” said Anne Raimondi, Chief Operating Officer, Asana in a news release. “As we transition into the new era of agile work, it’s crucial for organizations to connect their teams around clarity of purpose and a shared sense of accomplishment to ensure employees feel seen, heard and valued. In doing so, we can emerge from the burnout and bottlenecks of the past two years to chart a new path forward in the future of work.”