According to Microsoft's new research, work calendars have become overloaded with meetings, with a 192% increase in Microsoft Teams meetings and calls since February 2020. The heaviest users are spending close to 8 hours per week in online meetings alone.
Remote work during the pandemic led to this trend, but now companies are seeking ways to make in-person and virtual meetings more efficient and less frequent. Inefficient meetings are the top workplace distraction that hurts productivity, followed closely by having too many meetings, according to a Microsoft survey of 31,000 workers.
Meeting fatigue is leaving insufficient time for "deep work," and nearly two in three workers struggle with having the time and energy to do their job because of meetings and email overload. To combat this, companies are introducing new meeting policies and leveraging technology to make meetings more flexible and efficient.
Some companies are even imagining a future without meetings, relying on asynchronous communication methods.