Why Meetings Kill Productivity (and What to Do About It)

How meetings affect productivity

Too many meetings are unproductive and inefficient, and research shows they take up a large percentage of employees’ time. U.S. employees spend at least 20 percent of their workweek in meetings, with the number hitting 35 percent for senior roles, according to Fellow’s 2024 State of Meetings report. 

Meetings interfere with business productivity in a number of ways, but the biggest impact is on an employee’s ability to do work. This loss of productivity costs companies in the long run — at least $25,000 per employee every year, according to a study by Otter.ai and University of North Carolina at Charlotte professor Steven G. Rogelberg. 

If you want to plan meetings that contribute to a productivity-boosting workplace, you need to know exactly how meetings affect workflow. These are some of the biggest ways excessive meetings can hurt a business.

Meetings can inhibit employees’ concentration.

Constant switching between meetings and independent work makes it more challenging to concentrate. “[Meetings] often lead to cognitive overload because the constant switch from one type of work to another interrupts the flow of thought,” said Damien Filiatrault, CEO of software staffing agency Scalable Path. “Moreover, these interruptions inhibit employees from entering what is termed as ‘deep work,’ which is where real focus and innovations happen; in the long haul, of course, reduced engagement becomes an inevitable reality and ultimately results in team inefficiencies and burnout.”

Poor scheduling can hurt workers’ performance.

While too many meetings can hurt productivity, scheduling them at the wrong time can also hinder your employees’ work. “Timing can have a significant impact on productivity,” said Alex Payetta, success strategist and founder at Ritualle. “Frequent task switching creates cognitive load, leading to mental fatigue. Two hours of focused, uninterrupted work is far more productive than two hours split into 30-minute increments between meetings.”

Some meetings are unnecessary.

Many meetings waste employees’ time. “The shift to remote and hybrid work has led to meetings (both online and physical) being used as a substitute for informal office interactions,” said Maria Papacosta, co-founder and director at MSC Marketing Bureau. “Organizations often lean on meetings to create alignment, ensure visibility, and compensate for the perceived loss of connection and accountability.”

Occasionally meetings are also used as a tool for employee monitoring. “Information must flow, and trust must flourish to achieve objectives,” Papacosta said. “Achieving this often requires some degree of face-to-face interaction. However, many managers have begun using online meetings as a tool for control, believing it allows them to monitor whether employees are actively working.”

Tips for more productive meetings

It’s probably unrealistic to scrap meetings altogether. However, significantly reducing both the frequency and amount of time spent in them could contribute to a happy and motivated workplace. Here are 10 ways to facilitate more productive meetings.

1. Try a walking meeting.

Consider having walking meetings rather than sitting down for them, since walking is beneficial for your health. The average meeting lasts between 30 minutes and one hour. If you are walking at an average pace of 20 minutes per mile (about 2,000 steps per mile), that could result in an extra 3,000 to 6,000 steps per meeting.

Considering that most employees have meetings several times a week, this could result in some major overall health benefits. Additionally, employees may save some personal time after work that they otherwise would have spent walking anyway, which improves their work-life balance.

2. Set strict time limits.

Your employees’ time is valuable, so limit the length of the meeting to one hour or less if you can. Make sure to end the meeting on time, even if the agenda is not completed. 

When you set strict time limits, employees can plan their workday around the meeting with the expectation that they will be released on time. Additionally, this will force meeting planners to limit their agendas to the topics that really matter. 

Payetta described how enforcement of these boundaries makes meetings run more efficiently. “Parkinson’s law tells us that work expands to fill the time allotted for it,” she said. “A 60-minute meeting will likely stretch to 60 minutes — even if the work could have been done in 20. Consider scheduling shorter meetings, like 15 or 30 minutes, to save time and maintain focus.”

3. Create and distribute a meeting agenda ahead of time.

Share a clear agenda in advance to announce the goal of the meeting and its anticipated outcomes. It’s essential to draft this prior to the meeting, so everyone is prepared to make the most of the allocated time. “Share an agenda with clear action items at least 24 hours before the meeting,” Payetta said. “No agenda? Cancel the meeting — there’s no need to meet without a clear purpose.”

It’s also important to ensure the agenda has a limited number of action and discussion items so you can keep the meeting on track and stick to your anticipated time limit. Papacosta said this is essential to making meetings worth everyone’s time. 

“The key lies in shifting from quantity to quality,” Papacosta said. “Even infrequent meetings can drain time and energy if they lack a clear agenda and actionable outcomes. By prioritizing purposeful meetings, organizations can create a culture of efficiency, encouraging teams to consider whether a meeting is truly necessary or if the matter can be addressed through a quick email.

4. Decide on clear, assigned action items for after the meeting.

No one wants to attend a pointless meeting that accomplishes nothing, yet this happens all too often. Ensure there are specific and actionable follow-up tasks for decisions made at the meeting, including who is responsible and accountable for each item. 

This clarity will help bring purpose to your meetings and put your organization in the best position to succeed. After-meeting action items will also help to prepare employees for the next meeting, since they will be able to report on their progress or findings. [Read related article: 10 Useful Technologies for Hosting Online Meetings]

5. Send follow-up information and details.

If several important details are discussed during the meeting, make it clear to employees that you will distribute that information after the meeting. This will free employees from taking detailed meeting notes and allow them to better engage in the discussion. After the meeting, don’t forget to actually send the follow-up information.

6. Don’t hold status update meetings.

A common phrase heard around the office is, “That meeting could have been an email.” Avoid unnecessary meetings by being strategic about the types of meetings you are hosting. Do not use meetings for updates or information dissemination that can be handled by other methods, such as email. 

Payetta also recommended using project management software and other tech tools to keep your team updated on the status of ongoing projects. 

“Status updates are better handled using task management tools like Asana or Trello, where employees can update the progress of their work asynchronously,” she said. “This approach allows the entire team to track progress in real time without the need for a formal check-in. Progress tracking can also be managed through shared dashboards, providing full visibility into project status without pulling people into a room. For quick questions or clarifications, a simple message on Slack, Teams or email is often more efficient than scheduling a meeting.”

7. Start on time.

Always start the meeting on time, and don’t allow late participants to take part after 15 minutes. Also, do not spend time updating late arrivals on what they missed. If you form a habit of starting meetings on time, employees will be diligent about joining meetings on time. This keeps the meeting on track and helps you stay within your designated time frame.

8. Cap the meeting size.

Smaller meetings encourage more employees to participate, so it is a good practice to limit the number of people involved. “Meetings with more than six people end up being less effective, as they often lead to diluted participation, reduced engagement and a lack of focused decision-making,” Papacosta said. 

A good way to keep meetings small is to invite only the necessary parties. Uninvited employees will appreciate fewer meetings, and those who do attend will likely benefit from a more productive meeting.

9. Give people an out.

Allow employees the right to decline their attendance without penalty. If the meeting is essential and attendance is mandatory, emphasize its importance. However, if an employee has prior engagements that take precedent, work with them to find the best solution.

10. Keep the conversation moving.

If you are the meeting host, control the discussion by not letting individual participants dominate the conversation or repeat what has already been said. You can also examine other ways to share content in meetings, including alternatives to brainstorming, presentations, and the use of media and technology.

Better meetings are better for business

When done right, meetings can be a useful tool for collaboration. But when meetings start to become your full-time job, it becomes impossible to focus on the tasks that help your business grow. By following these tips, you can ensure your team’s time isn’t wasted in unnecessary meetings. Prioritize clear agendas, focus on action items, and don’t let meetings go over the scheduled time. You and your team will be glad you did when you have more time to complete your work and keep business moving. 

Natalie Hamingson and Jamie Johnson contributed to this article.