That meeting could have been an email: The shocking rise in workplace check-ins since 2020

Recent worker surveys indicate a concerning trend across businesses in the United States: a growing number of meetings are taking place, with a significant percentage perceived as a waste of time.

“This could have been an email” has become a common refrain among workers describing meetings where the information could have been shared more efficiently through another medium.

Interestingly, the data tells a different—and at times contradictory—story. It’s a story of companies trying to increase productivity, seeing meetings as a barrier to that goal, and attempting to cut back. And there are reasons why the number of meetings should be reduced, or why rules should be put in place to ensure that workers have enough uninterrupted time to focus. However, some workers express a desire for deeper collaboration with their leaders and colleagues. Cutting back on those opportunities could, paradoxically, lead to lower productivity.

So, how much time are U.S. workers spending in meetings?

Much of the research on worker productivity and meetings is conducted by firms that also promote products in this space—collaborative calendars, meeting platforms, team communication tools (like Slack or Teams), and workflow platforms (like Asana or Monday). These companies are tapping into a massive market aimed at boosting productivity, and they often frame their tools as promoting worker wellness.

A common statistic featured on the websites of these companies is that the number of meetings for the average worker has tripled since 2020. This figure can be traced back to an NPR article citing a Microsoft study—presumably of its own workforce—that found meetings had increased by that astronomical level. However, this data point may not be as broadly applicable as it’s often made to seem.

Another figure, from the AI note-taking platform Fellow, found that among its users—who may represent a more meeting-heavy segment of the workforce—workers spent an average of 11.3 hours per week in meetings, or nearly 28% of a standard 40-hour workweek. While this number is lower than some reported by other AI platforms offering similar services, it’s important to note that it comes from a biased sample.

In addition to issues with quantifying the number of time spent in meetings, data on meeting productivity has its own problems. Notta, a company that provides AI note-taking and transcription services, wrote in a blog post that only 30% of meetings “are productive.” The blog fails to measure productivity effectively, which overlooks the importance of collaboration as both a process and a skill. People have to learn how to work together, and meetings, even those where no items are crossed off a to-do list, may still offer value. They might serve as spaces for socialization that boost morale, or as check-ins with managers that give employees a sense of ownership over their work.

Brace yourselves, CEOs: Some people want more meetings

These alternative benefits are supported by data from Calendly, a calendar coordination and automatic appointment-making platform, which found that 81% of workers believe more meetings “could help them in some way.” The same poll revealed that many workers see meetings as their only opportunity to connect with managers or higher-ups.

What many dubbed “Zoom fatigue” during the pandemic has evolved into a broader sense of “meeting fatigue”—a feeling that existed for some even before COVID-19 turned millions into teleworkers.

A 2022 Pew Research poll found that among workers whose jobs can be done remotely, 56% reported being “often” in Zoom or other virtual meetings. However, only 25% of that group said they felt “worn down” by the volume of meetings. Still, that’s millions of workers who relate to the “this could have been an email” sentiment.

The mixed nature of the data suggests that workplaces—whether in-person, virtual, or hybrid—are still adapting to a structure that was imperfect even before the pandemic. A glance at the field of organizational psychology shows that questions about how to best structure teams for productivity and well-being have long been on the minds of business leaders.

Wages have failed to keep pace with massive increases in worker productivity

A 2024 Pew poll found that around 88% of U.S. workers are either “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with their jobs. However, younger workers (17% dissatisfied), as well as those with lower (16%) and middle (11%) incomes, reported the lowest satisfaction levels. These groups also tend to have the least autonomy and power in the workplace, as they are still “climbing the ladder.”

Worker productivity has increased dramatically over the last 50 years, but wages have not kept pace. Since 1979, worker productivity has increased by 132%. In other words, a worker today produces more than twice the output of the average worker in 1979. Yet, over the same period, real wages have only increased by 11%.

Many business leaders are alarmed by how much of their workforce’s day is spent in meetings, and even more so when they hear that only a fraction is considered “productive.” However, the data also shows that while some workers are overwhelmed by overly busy calendars, many still crave more opportunities for collaboration and connection with leadership.

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