A Rise in Remote Meetings Leads to Less Productivity

More meetings mean more work is getting done, right? Not quite.

Microsoft’s (NASDAQ-MSFT) Work Trend Index reported the number of meetings the average employee participates in every day through its Teams software rose 153% during the spring in comparison to the beginning of the pandemic. 

Constant remote meetings have forced workers to multitask like never before. Microsoft reported that “some 42% of survey respondents admitted to multitasking during meetings by either sending and reading emails or working on projects not related to meetings they’re attending — simply to keep up with their work.” 

The decline of in-person, spontaneous meetings or “check-ins” has led to more scheduled, structured remote meetings that often take up more time. With fewer people working in the office, stepping into someone’s office for a quick question or sliding by someone’s desk to make a comment is nearly impossible. 

All this is not to say remote or hybrid workers put in less work than employees who work in an office. Simply, remote meetings can be timelier and more interruptive often leading to less productivity in the long run.