Starting Your Day with Dread or Excitement? The Effects of Meeting Scheduling Cadences
by Dr. Liana Kreamer
Work meetings are necessary for collaboration, communication, brainstorming, decision-making, and so on. While researchers have explored many aspects of workplace meetings, current research has yet to consider the broader concept of scheduling cadences (e.g., how meetings are dispersed throughout the day). We propose that, depending on these scheduling cadences, meetings can function as an interruption by disrupting workflow and diminishing employee productivity levels while increasing feelings of fatigue.
To that end, our research looked at how the scheduling of meetings during the workday can affect employees' expectations about their productivity and emotions that day. Specifically, we were interested in seeing if certain ways of scheduling meetings can make employees either (a) dread going to work versus (b) feel excited and optimistic about their day.
To explore the effects of these daily meeting schedules on participants work experiences, we created hypothetical daily calendar schedules that varied in 3 main ways:
Number and length of meetings - Some schedules had 2 long, 60-minute meetings, others had 4 shorter, 30-minute meetings.
Spread of meetings - In some schedules, meetings were back-to-back. In others, they were spaced out throughout the day with gaps of free time in between.
Individual work tasks - Some schedules indicated short, straightforward tasks for the day while others specified long, complex deliverables needing 3 hours of focused work.
We then recruited over 300 full-time working professionals and presented them with these various hypothetical daily schedules. Participants imagined themselves in each scenario and reported how productive and positive they expected to feel by the end of each hypothetical workday.
We found:
When meetings were dispersed throughout the workday, employees predicted lower productivity and fewer positive emotions compared to days when meetings were scheduled back-to-back. This is likely attributed to frequent task switching between meetings and focused work that happens when meetings are spread throughout the workday.
The more time spent in meetings during the day reduced expected productivity and positivity, regardless of the number of meetings. This suggests the total time meetings occupy throughout the day, rather than the sheer quantity of meetings, impacts daily anticipations the most.
Expecting a complex, 3-hour deliverable for the day strengthened the negative effects of dispersed meetings on productivity and emotions. High cognitive workload plus frequent task switching was detrimental to employee productivity and affect.
Employees who said they recover well from work interruptions (i.e., rated themselves high in work interruption resiliency skills) were less negatively impacted by dispersed meetings. Their productivity and positivity remained relatively high despite the heavy meeting load and spread.
In summary, the key takeaways from our experimental vignettes are:
When possible, schedule meetings back-to-back rather than spreading them out to avoid interrupting workflow. This will create blocks of ‘focus time’ where you can get into deep work without feeling interrupted by your meetings.
Aim for fewer, shorter meetings by only meeting when necessary, and allot the shortest amount of time possible to accomplish the agenda. This will save you more time for focused work.
Consider yours and others’ workload when scheduling meetings. For instance, try to reduce meetings on busy workdays when timely and complex deliverables are due.
Build skills to handle work interruptions if sporadic and lengthy meetings are unavoidable.
Our research highlights that for employees, a day full of meetings can feel interruptive - even when these meetings are expected and planned. It is important to be mindful of how meetings can impact employees’ work experiences – both in terms of productivity (output) and affect (emotion/drain).
By following the above tips, organizations can schedule meetings in a way that doesn't derail an otherwise productive, feel-good workday. Our findings emphasize the importance of examining meeting cadences to improve daily experiences. Optimizing meeting schedules requires looking beyond individual meetings and taking a holistic view of the workday. By carefully considering meeting cadence in addition to content, organizations can transform dreaded days full of disjointed meetings into focused, energetic days where meetings enhance rather than hinder progress. Our research provides data-driven best practices that managers and employees can implement to schedule meetings in a manner that sets employees up for an engaging, productive workday. Taken together, these insights offer a roadmap for meetings that fuel positive anticipation rather than dread.
Article Details
Starting Your Day with Dread or Excitement? The Effects of Meeting Scheduling Cadences on Anticipated Daily Outcomes
Liana M. Kreamer, Steven G. Rogelberg
First Published January 7, 2024 Research Article
DOI: 10.1177/10596011231223263
Group & Organization Management
About the Author
