[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2023\/05\/17\/microsoft-study-meeting-overload\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2023\/05\/17\/microsoft-study-meeting-overload\/","headline":"Driven to distraction: Microsoft study reveals meeting overload","name":"Driven to distraction: Microsoft study reveals meeting overload","description":"Workers are overwhelmed by too many unproductive meetings and emails, but AI promises to relieve the burden, according to the latest Microsoft Work Trend Index.","datePublished":"2023-05-17","dateModified":"2025-03-07","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/marcia-yusavage\/#Person","name":"Marcia Yusavage","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/marcia-yusavage\/","identifier":298,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9929f6ff16e34cd6d43daf18411658f8565960b4c0fd78662963005f1aa9afb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9929f6ff16e34cd6d43daf18411658f8565960b4c0fd78662963005f1aa9afb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/distracted-workers_FTR.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/distracted-workers_FTR.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2023\/05\/17\/microsoft-study-meeting-overload\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/employee-engagement\/","name":"Employee Engagement","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Employee_engagement","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q14937678"]},"Employee Experience & Engagement","HXM: Human Experience Management","Real Talk: Mental Health, Well-Being, and Laughter",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/hxm-human-experience-management-solution\/human-resources\/","name":"The Future of Human Resources","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Human_resources"]}],"wordCount":519,"keywords":["AI (Artificial Intelligence)","Employee Engagement","Employee Experience","Workplace Trends"],"articleBody":"If you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, you’re not alone. All the meetings, emails, and virtual chats are making it hard for employees to focus and get things done, according to the new Microsoft Work Trend Index.Sixty-eight percent of the 31,000 people surveyed in 31 countries said they don’t have enough uninterrupted focus time in their work day.The study, which analyzed trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals and data from the LinkedIn Economic Graph, showed the crushing weight of the modern work day:57% of the average employee’s time is spent in meetings, email, and chat43% is spent creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentationsThe heaviest meeting users spend 7.5 hours a week in meetingsThe heaviest email users spend 8.8 hours a week on emailSixty percent of leaders polled said all these productivity drains are hurting innovation.“In a world where creativity is the new productivity, digital debt is more than an inconvenience\u2014it\u2019s impacting business,” Microsoft said.No. 1 productivity killer: Lousy meetingsWhat can really set a worker’s teeth on edge is time wasted in a meeting that accomplishes nothing. Inefficient meetings are the top productivity disruptor, Microsoft found. Too many meetings came in third.Since early 2020, the number of meetings has grown: Workers are in three times as many Teams meetings and calls per week.The explosion of virtual meetings, triggered by the pandemic, has led to a lot of disorganized, unproductive meetings, according to the study:58% of survey participants said it’s hard to effectively brainstorm in a virtual meeting55% said it’s hard to know what the next steps are once a meeting concludes56% said it’s difficult to summarize what happened      Zoned out: What workers really do in virtual meetings                A survey of American workers shows they're highly distracted during online meetings. The list of things they do might surprise you.      AI to the rescue?Microsoft, which is beginning to roll out its Microsoft 365 Copilot with AI capabilities, says artificial intelligence can help relieve overwhelmed workers.\u201cThis new generation of AI will remove the drudgery of work and unleash creativity,\u201d Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft, said in a prepared statement. “There’s an enormous opportunity for AI-powered tools to help alleviate digital debt, build AI aptitude, and empower employees.”The work trends index, which Microsoft conducts every year, showed that while 49% of workers are worried AI will replace them, 70% are eager to offload as much as possible to AI.76% would use AI for administrative tasks79% would use it for analytical work73% would use it for creative workBusiness leaders, meanwhile, are excited about the potential for AI and are twice as likely to use it to boost productivity instead of cutting workers, the survey found.At the same time, 82% of leaders expect employees will need new skills as businesses incorporate more AI into their processes.“As AI reshapes work, human-AI collaboration will be the next transformational work pattern\u2014and the ability to work iteratively with AI will be a key skill for every employee,” Microsoft said.  HR, better.Employees, happier.Businesses, healthier.It’s time to modernize the employee experience."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2023","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2023\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"05","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2023\/\/05\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"17","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2023\/\/05\/\/17\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Driven to distraction: Microsoft study reveals meeting overload","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2023\/05\/17\/microsoft-study-meeting-overload\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]