Research in this month's issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology claims to be the first international study on the effects of meetings on employee well-being, based on the responses of 980 workers. One of the report's findings was that people like meetings more than they usually let on. "People claim that they hate meetings,'' explained Steven Rogelberg, the organisational psychologist who led the research team. "But in surveys you see a different story - people's private sentiments are much more positive. It really helps to explain why we have all these meetings.''
Freudian Concepts
People with low accomplishment striving were positively impacted by meetings. Rogelberg said: "They view meetings as a way to structure their day or a way to network and socialise.'' People who don't much like doing the work they are supposed to be doing enjoy meetings because they allow them to stop work and have a little break with colleagues instead. So if you think most meetings are a complete waste of time, it is no accident. Why would they happen if no one could see the point in them? The fact is that for plenty of people the purpose of meetings is to waste time, to avoid doing work. Other research shows that the amount of time people spend in meetings has increased over recent decades. The hours workers spend in offices have also grown steadily. If people enjoyed their jobs more they wouldn't feel the need to seek ways to avoid working, such as sitting in meetings. The key to the work-life balance might not lie in reducing workload but in increasing employee commitment.
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