Why do we get bored during meetings?

Participants' attention is often distracted approximately 10 minutes after the start of the meeting and the ability to focus is diminished, causing participants to fall into selective attention.

According to neuroscientist Cyril Darigad, a quarter of French employees do not see the benefit of meetings and think it is necessary to reconsider them.

In an article published by the French newspaper "Loops", expert Cyril Darigad says that companies in France are known to be the "champions" of meetings of all kinds, as managers and employees dedicate about 5 hours a week to meetings, the equivalent of 6 weeks or more per year. But these meetings are useless and their purpose is not clear.

A study published by the Opinion Way Foundation in April 2017 showed that a quarter of employees do not realize the benefit of these meetings, especially when they are mandatory, and that about 40% of participants focus on their smartphones or computers to pass the time. As such, only 1 in 4 meetings is productive and will result in a decision being made; That is, companies waste 3 weeks of time in pointless meetings.

Occupational burnout syndrome

The author noted that participants often get distracted about 10 minutes after the start of the meeting and the ability to focus is diminished, causing participants to fall into selective attention, i.e. focusing on other things and neglecting other things. In contrast, the rest of the participants play the role of observer and are satisfied with interacting with the comments.

Meetings are often boring for employees, although they are a source of creativity for some leaders who see the time employees spend in the meeting as productive in the medium or long term. According to medical imaging clips, the areas of the brain related to boredom are the same areas responsible for creativity.

Meetings should be held at the rate of one meeting every two weeks or a maximum of two meetings per month (Pixabe)

The expert warned that boredom in meetings is a problem that cannot be ignored, because it may be evidence of various psychological problems that lead to frustration, sadness, loss of self-confidence and anxiety.

All of these symptoms often indicate the onset of "chronic fatigue" at work, which causes disturbances in memory, attention, and concentration and affects neuro-executive functions as well as psychological and social problems.

The writer pointed out that boredom in meetings is often the result of a lack of motivation and many consider it an additional workload that generates fatigue later. In fact, long or goalless meetings make us feel bored and sometimes drowsy, which stimulates neurons linked to adenosine receptors that promote sleepiness.

Rethinking the way meetings are organized

The writer emphasized that the feeling of boredom during meetings is not because they are useless, but because they lack a purpose. To avoid this, it is necessary to increase the participants' commitment and maintain their attention through, for example, the use of visual data instead of speeches. It is best to limit the duration of the meeting to 20 minutes and provide an agenda in advance with a two-minute timeout 10 minutes after the start of the meeting in order to enhance attention.

The author advises dividing the roles and giving all participants time to share their ideas. Meetings should be held at the rate of one every two weeks or two at most every month.

As for video conferencing, the principle is the same, it should be brief and not exceed 30 minutes and not exceed 8 people in attendance to allow everyone to express their ideas briefly, and allocate one topic for the meeting.

Besides the human and financial cost of meetings, the time available helps each employee focus on his or her primary tasks and get rid of the sense of uselessness and boredom.

Source : lobs