November 12, 2021
Editorial
Harvard Business Review Digital Articles

The Psychology Behind Meeting Overload

By: Ashley Whillans, Dave Feldman and Damian Wisniewski

Format:Electronic

Abstract

Everyone hates meetings. Attending too many can be highly stressful and tiring, and both productivity and quality take a hit when employees tune out, become demotivated, and lose valuable heads-down work time. As such, it’s hardly a surprise that managers in one survey reported 83% of the meetings on their calendars were unproductive, or that US-based professionals rated meetings as the “number one office productivity killer.” But despite what seems to be an overwhelming consensus, endless check-ins, debriefs, all-staffs, and Zoom calls continue to plague the corporate world. What will it take for us to break free from our collective addiction to meetings?

Keywords

Meetings; Collaboration; Psychology; Time Management; Communication

Citation

Whillans, Ashley, Dave Feldman, and Damian Wisniewski. "The Psychology Behind Meeting Overload." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (November 12, 2021).