Over the last few years, we’ve all seen virtual meetings increase.
But how much time a day do you spend on Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet calls?
I polled my followers, and of the 2,800 respondents, 37% say they’re in virtual meetings for two to four hours a day, followed by 28% in the five to seven hour category. 19% of respondents are in virtual meetings for one to two hours a day, and 16% have lost count.
That seems to match the national average of about 30% of weekly work time spent in meetings.
If it seems like you’re in more virtual meetings now than you were in in-person meetings before the pandemic, that’s likely true. The average time workers spend in online meetings per week jumped from 14.2 hours to 21.5 hours over the past two years.
That may seem like a lot of time to spend meeting with people virtually every day, but most of the comments on my poll were positive.
For people in meeting-heavy jobs, being able to meet virtually increases flexibility and productivity. You likely spend less time going off on tangents or getting distracted after the meeting.
How can you make the most of your time spent in virtual meetings? Here are a few suggestions:
- Make an agenda and stick to it. This is Meetings 101, but it’s crucial to help everyone be prepared and stay on task.
- Use email when possible. Just because it’s generally easier to hop on a meeting virtually than it is in person doesn’t mean that is always the solution. Use other collaboration methods besides just meetings.
- Chat with co-workers through other channels. Use the company intranet, Slack channels, or virtual happy hours to catch up with remote co-workers so meetings can be dedicated to productive work.
We’re all experiencing a learning curve as we continually adjust to virtual meetings. But with the right planning and attitude, it’s something we can benefit from, no matter how much time we spend on Zoom each week.
How much time do you spend in virtual meetings? Do you find it productive or wish there was another way?
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