- More than half white-collar workers (55%) complain they waste too much time in calls and catchups, which is stopping them from getting their work done
- Four in five (81%) are confident that shorter meetings would achieve the same outcomes
- Waffling colleagues, too much small talk, poor meeting facilitation and late joiners are cited as the biggest culprits for wasting time
- Two thirds (67%) believe face-to-face meetings are more productive than meeting virtually, even among staff working remotely (57%)
- The research from Brother UK, part of its Meaningful Meeting Manifesto campaign, polled 2,000 UK office workers on work meetings and the impact on productivity
Office workers say meetings need to be shortened to tackle an overload of calls and catchups that drag on productivity, according to research from Brother UK.
The research, which polled 2,000 UK office workers, found that more than half (55%) complained they waste too much time in meetings, with a similar proportion (57%) saying they only attend a useful meeting once a week.
Four in five (81%) are confident that shorter calls and catchups would achieve the same outcomes, creating more time to deliver their responsibilities, according to the findings.
Respondents cited waffling (59%), too much small talk (48%), late joiners (31%) and people not paying attention (31%) as the worst culprits for timewasting, with more than a third (43%) convinced that colleagues try and do other work during most meetings.
The research, from Brother UK’s Meaningful Meeting Manifesto, also uncovered a poor standard of meeting facilitation. More than half of the respondents (53%) said they attend too many unengaging and poorly structured meetings, with this figure rising to 67% among remote workers.
Phil Jones MBE, managing director at Brother UK, said: “It’s clear that the UK’s meeting culture still heavily contributes to workplace productivity. Bringing people together will always be an important part of culture, problem-solving, building relationships and developing new customers. Many meetings could be shorter and provide people with more free time to focus on delivery.
“Our findings also uncovered that meetings that overrun and waste time have a negative impact on our morale and attitudes at work. Half of the respondents (54%) admitted that they feel frustrated, with 27% feeling demotivated and 25% going as far to say they think less of their colleagues.
“There is still work to do to right the UK’s meeting culture, even in our own business. Greater consideration on time, place and how to better facilitate calls and catchups will help nurture more productive meetings, more often.”
The research found that office workers see morning, in-person meetings with strict agendas and actions notes as the most productive.
Two thirds (67%) of the sample believe face-to-face meetings are more productive than meeting virtually (24%), even among staff working remotely (57%).
The findings also show that almost nine in 10 (88%) respondents agreed that timekeeping is important to holding a productive meeting, followed by keeping to a strict agenda (78%), circulating actions notes (74%), putting laptops and phones away if in person (73%) and keeping cameras on if virtual (61%).
When asked when respondents feel most productive in a meeting, the majority (87%) say they are at their best before midday, with 9am-11am the most productive period.
Phil continued: “Office productivity is our business, and we know that improving it is an evergreen ambition for businesses across the country. Fortunately, they can turn to new tech, insights from psychology and feedback from their own people to pin-point best-practice meeting culture.
“Our hardware, services and solutions form part of the apparatus that helps office workers to be efficient. But there are broader opportunities for improving productivity beyond the reach of technology for all businesses to embrace.”
To find out more about the research and read Brother UK’s Meaningful Meeting Manifesto, visit:https://www.brother.co.uk/business-solutions/workplace-by-brother/meaningful-meetings-manifesto.
*A survey of 2,007 UK working adults, conducted by Censuswide on behalf of business and technology solutions provider Brother UK, carried out between 26th September – 2nd October 2023.
About Brother UK
Over 100 years of innovation have gone into making Brother the global technology solutions provider that it is today.
From managed print services and print and scan hardware, to specialist print and labelling solutions, Brother’s products and services are designed to help channel partners support their customers in boosting productivity, efficiency, security, workflow, resilience and sustainability.
Founded as Yasui Sewing Machines Co in Japan in 1908 and later renamed to Brother, the UK business has secured Investors in People ‘Platinum’ status and a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in recognition of its outstanding achievements in sustainable development.
