Have you ever wondered why your 4pm meetings seem to be falling flat? Why the energy is low, the ideas are sparse, and your hybrid workers are often absent? Well, it’s time to face a hard truth – 4pm might just be the worst time to schedule a meeting.
Yes, I know, it’s a shocking revelation.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the new era of hybrid work has made the once-cherished 4pm to 6pm meeting slot a logistical nightmare.
Why?
These hours coincide with school runs, gym sessions, and generally, the transition from work life to personal life. Your dedicated employees aren’t shirking responsibilities, they’re simply trying to find a balance between their work lives and their personal lives. Can we blame them?
But here’s the real kicker. Even if every team member was present and accounted for, research shows that productivity levels at 4pm are significantly lower than in the morning hours. That’s right, those final hours of the work day, when brains are fried and energy is low, may not be the ideal time for decision-making and brainstorming after all.
But how can we get things done if everyone isn’t present at the same time? The answer may surprise you.
Here’s a thought: do all discussions really need to be meetings?
Think about it. How many meetings have you attended that could easily have been an email or a Teams conversation? Research suggests that over 40% of meetings could be eliminated without any major consequences. That’s almost half of your meetings that could be time better spent on actual work.
So, here’s a call to action: Let’s rethink the way we do meetings. Let’s consider the needs of our hybrid workers, the natural energy rhythms of our teams, and the efficiency of our communication methods.
After all, as the saying goes, ‘Time is money.’ And who wants to waste money on unproductive meetings? Not me! If the meeting could have been an email, make it an email!
#SayNoTo4pmMeetings #HybridWork #Productivity
https://www.vox.com/technology/23802010/hybrid-work-meetings-flexibility-managers
