More than three-quarters of employees think that virtual meetings are a waste of time and some even excuse themselves from them if they find it to be too boring.
This is according to CV-Library who found that 76 per cent of workers find these virtual meetings, which are now far more common place thanks to COVID-19. Over a third (34 per cent) even admitted to excuse themselves from the meeting as they find it to be boring.
More men (81 per cent) find these meetings to be a waste of time compared to women (68 per cent), with also more men (41 per cent) compared to women (27 per cent) leaving the meetings.
To add to this issue, 96 per cent of workers say they have up to four virtual meetings a day, with each of them lasting around an hour. Over a tenth (14 per cent) said they spend 6.5 hours a day in virtual meetings.
Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library, said:
We know that more people are working from home right now than ever before and it’s definitely taking some getting used to. While it’s great to keep the momentum going and connect with colleagues via conference calls or video chats, there is an argument that these can sometimes be counter-productive – especially if they’re filling up your entire day or nothing positive ever comes out of them.
Try to get a good balance of personal and professional chat. It doesn’t need to be business all the time! For some people, virtual meetings may be all the interaction they have with others right now, so be sensitive of everyone’s situations. If you’re worried that you’re not getting much out of the meetings you’re attending, why not suggest that you shake them up a bit by introducing presentations or setting a clear agenda.
Research from a few years back found that the average UK employee’s attention span is just 14 minutes; so think about this when scheduling in your next virtual meeting. Often, shorter, more frequent, meetings can be a lot more productive.
CV-Library questioned 2,000 UK workers to get these figures.
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
