Scott and SadieIf you’ve got a meeting today, remember to hydrate.
“Harvard Business Review” posted a bunch of stats on how work meetings can give you a “HANGOVER.” Not a real one though.
“Meeting hangover” is a term they used to describe the negative effects of a pointless meeting, or one that’s not run very well.
A study found 28% of meetings cause negative effects on employees. They can leave you feeling less focused, less motivated, and less productive. 90% of workers say it happens to them, at least occasionally.
The study found meeting hangovers last an average of two hours, but sometimes last the rest of the day or longer. Here are the top five things that can cause one:
1. Too much time talking about stuff that’s irrelevant. 59% said yes.
2. Lack of a clear agenda or clear objectives, 59%.
3. Poor time management, 53%. So, it could have been shorter.
4. No actionable outcomes, 48%. You talked but didn’t accomplish much.
5. Unequal participation, 39%. So, only a few people talked, and they talked a LOT. “Low” participation overall is next at 38%.
Bosses can prevent meeting hangovers by listening more and helping the conversation along . . . making every minute count . . . ending on time . . . and having smaller meetings with fewer people.
The top ways to recover from a work meeting include taking a short break when it ends . . . going for a quick walk . . . and talking things out with a coworker.
That last one is risky though. If it’s about making sense of the meeting, that’s good. But venting too much tends to breed negativity. Then your meeting hangover can spread to other people.
