A new study from the UK’s leading independent job board, CV-Library, reveals that 75.9% of Brits think virtual work meetings are a waste of time; with one in three (34.4%) admitting that they excuse themselves from online meetings that they get bored of.
The study surveyed 2,000 working professionals and reveals that men were most likely to see them as a waste of time (81.3% of men vs 67.8% of women), and were also more likely to abandon an online meeting altogether (40.7% of men vs 26.8% of women).
Alongside this, a staggering 96.3% of UK workers currently have up to four virtual meetings a day, with each of these lasting around an hour. Worse still, 13.9% said they spend around 6.5 hours in virtual meetings every day.
Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library, comments:
“We know that more people are working from home right now than ever before and it’s definitely taking some getting used to. While it’s great to keep the momentum going and connect with colleagues via conference calls or video chats, there is an argument that these can sometimes be counter-productive - especially if they’re filling up your entire day or nothing positive ever comes out of them.
“Try to get a good balance of personal and professional chat. It doesn’t need to be business all the time! For some people, virtual meetings may be all the interaction they have with others right now, so be sensitive of everyone’s situations. If you’re worried that you’re not getting much out of the meetings you’re attending, why not suggest that you shake them up a bit by introducing presentations or setting a clear agenda.”
In addition to the above, over half (55.1%) of respondents say their most productive meetings are under 30 minutes long, while 19% said 45 minutes, 15% an hour, 6.2% an hour and a half and 4.7% two hours plus.
Biggins continues:
“Research from a few years back found that the average Brits’ attention span is just 14 minutes; so think about this when scheduling in your next virtual meeting. Often, shorter, more frequent, meetings can be a lot more productive.”
About CV-Library
CV-Library is one of the UK’s largest online job sites and attracts over 4.3 million unique job seekers every month. Founded by Lee Biggins in 2000, CV-Library is the UK’s leading independent online job board with a database of over 15 million CVs.
