The switch to the remote ‘office’ brought with it a complete overhaul of the day to day of an average employee. While many cite that the switch has increased their overall contentment with their work, there have been aspects of this ‘new normal’ that have proven to be more draining than the pre-pandemic days of the in-person workplace.
A new study published by Honest Paws found that 55% of North Americans have more meetings virtually now than they did in person; attributing to the nearly 2900% increase in use of the video-call application ‘Zoom’ during the provincial lockdowns. Remote workers are finding their weeks packed with meetings, with 35% participating in multiple per week, and 17% having multiple meetings per day. Many participants stated that alongside the increase in meetings, the time between has grown shorter and shorter, with 35% those who have multiple meetings per day only having 30 minutes between each. When the meetings run anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour, this can be a less than ideal environment for productivity, which is leading employees to experience ‘Zoom fatigue’ and chronic burnout.
While businesses continue to adapt to the changing landscape of a post-pandemic world, bumps along the road are likely to continue popping up for employees and employers alike–and the verdict is in on meetings: they’re running too long, happening too frequently, and not yielding enough results to be worthwhile.