Slack Survey of 10,000 Desk Workers Reveals Maximum of Two Hours of Meetings Per Day

According to a recent survey, exceeding two hours per day in meetings can negatively impact productivity, limiting a component of the daily routine that is often dreaded by many workers.

A survey of more than 10,000 desk workers worldwide at Salesforce-owned Slack Technologies found that two-hour meetings were the turning point for most. Those who said they spent too much time on Zoom calls or in conference rooms were more than twice as likely to say they didn’t have enough time to focus on essential work instead of meetings. More than half of the executives surveyed said they hold too many meetings, while 27% of civil servants said the same. The high number of meetings can force people to complete tasks after hours, which about two out of five employees do at least once a week. The effects were the same whether the meetings were virtual or in person.

“Every minute you spend in meetings is a minute you spend unfocused,” said Christina Janzer, director of research and analytics at Slack. “Meetings have a purpose, but focused time is so important.”

The study is the latest to show the negative effects of too many or unproductive meetings, which Slack, Shopify Inc. and other companies have tried to combat with varying success. Previous studies have shown that large organizations waste $100 million a year on unnecessary meetings. Tactics for limiting meetings can vary: For example, twice a quarter, Slack cancels all internal meetings for the entire week and removes them on Fridays. Curbing Friday meetings is also the task of other companies. Shopify created a tool embedded in employee calendars that estimates the cost of each meeting. In some cases, companies encourage employees to refuse meetings.

The findings come as new tools are emerging that can record meeting highlights and send a summary and agreed next steps to employees later.

Surprisingly, Slack’s survey also found that a small percentage of the workforce — typically younger employees or those who have been on the job for less than a year — think they spend too little time in meetings. Employees in the United States, Great Britain, Japan, Germany, France and Australia participated in the study.