Meetings, Back By Unpopular Demand

The executive and her team had wanted to bear down and make some progress on a proposal for an innovative new product. But everyone on the team said they were tied up in meetings. She looked at her own schedule and realized she was pretty tied up too—and for days to come.

Remember when firms and leaders talked about cutting back on time-sucking meetings? It turns out that meetings are back—with a vengeance. The average worker now gets just two to three hours of focus time per day, according to data from time-tracking platform Hubstaff, and meeting volume has doubled in the past two years. “It’s creating a continuous loss of attention as people ping back and forth between meetings,” says engagement expert Mark Royal, senior client partner at Korn Ferry.

To be sure, not all meetings are a waste, and some are essential. Experts say work is increasingly interdependent—often based on team tasks and the coordination of details. Many firms have taken steps to improve meetings as part of a productivity drive. "Meetings have become more productive and precise,” says HR expert Ron Porter, senior partner at Korn Ferry. “Very few run over.”

But even leaders themselves admit there’s a problem. Two-thirds of executives from the 2026 World’s Most Admired Companies report, a partnership between Korn Ferry and Forbes, say that meetings are the number-one thing they spend too much time on. This meeting overload, of course, is happening in an environment of constantly distracting phones and screens. “We have created workdays that are endlessly interruption driven,” says Marnix Boorsma, senior client partner at Korn Ferry. “Meetings are a visible symptom.”

Certainly, the statistics around meetings are eye-opening. According to another study, a typical employee spends 392 hours in meetings per year, and organizations dedicate roughly 15% of their collective time to them. Yet 67% of meetings are deemed unproductive, and nearly 92% of professionals admit to multitasking during them.

In particular, experts warn about so-called default (i.e., not truly warranted) meetings. Today, the cost of calling a virtual meeting has never been lower, with zero space or travel limitations, and frictionless software. Calling can take one click, and there are virtually no obstacles to attendance. “No one is commuting from one side of headquarters to the other anymore,” says Royal.

Experts advise giving HR the task of gathering data. On the next corporate survey, ask about employees’ experiences of meetings. “Keep a finger on the pulse of what employees think about this,” says Porter. Firms should have clear expectations for meetings, he says, including norms on when meetings are and aren’t appropriate, and ground rules for participation and length. Top firms also commonly carve out meeting-free time frames, such as No Meeting Fridays, or daily windows for focused work time. 

Still, leaders may continue to regard meetings as important, particularly since they’re requiring people to attend them in person. Indeed, much of the fierce return-to-office debate has to do with better policies for face-to-face meetings. How to manage this amid growing time pressures is a challenge. “Organizations need to actively protect focus time, and reset expectations around constant availability,” says Boorsma. 

Learn more about Korn Ferry’s Organizational Strategy capabilities. 

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