- The majority of us, am referring to white-collar workers, would concur without an iota of doubt that office meetings are infructuous more often than not but unavoidable, nonetheless. Yes, the very meaning of meetings took an entirely different dimension during the two years of the pandemic when the Zoom and Microsoft Teams online meetings took center stage. Unending meetings defined our daily office chores albeit cooped in the comforts of the home going along with the flow. Since the pandemic situation has eased considerably leading to a return to normalcy, the ubiquitous office meetings are back to consuming precious working time in the bargain. Are these meetings expected to yield desired results? Let’s explore this further.
PC: Unify Square
- At the outset, the opinions being bandied about will be different for everyone involved in the hierarchy. Mind you, there always will be two sides to any story. It’s not different in the case of office machinations as well. From the employer’s point of view, each on the rolls needs to be on the same page vis-à-vis diligently following the organisations’s policies to the T. On the other hand, employees are bound to feel overwhelmed and overburdened sometimes by a slew of meetings that might not result in substantive agreements but only lead to a further chasm in the working environment. Simply put, there is no fine balancing act that could ensure both sides are happier with the eventual outcome. It’s not an ideal world, you see.
- Interestingly, a survey conducted by the University of North Carolina says that meetings are both a fact of white-collar working life and a colossal waste of time costing big companies a whopping $100 million a year. Note that most employees feel that they would be better off refusing at least a third of all meetings but are reluctant to say so for fear of rebuke or getting into the bad books of the management. Women are especially uncomfortable refusing a scheduled meeting. We all know too many meetings invariably end up meandering along by draining the sense of autonomy that fuels creative work. Often, they don’t end up with the best decision, but poor or low-commitment agreements. Again, the majority of employees will vouch for this.
PC: Eddy
- Undeniably, meetings are the only way for big and complex organizations to work. They are the forum to pitch new plans and arrive at collective decisions sparking serendipitous new ideas, are a way to discover each other’s capacities and interests, and forge fellowships. Remember, people, react spontaneously, reading each other’s cues. In that case, can meetings be kept minimal but efficient? Depends on a variety of variables. Goals should be sharp, participants must be few, must have decision-makers, clarity on having a competition-oriented approach between supposed rivals allowing some sparring, and showboating or prefer more collegial back-and-forth contributions. There is no set formula you see. In conclusion, meetings should be called only when essential. Otherwise, it will be a dreadful waste of time, energy, and resources.
