NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 9: Associate Professor Carol Dysinger, right, of New York Universitys Tisch ... [+]
The pandemic highlighted businesses’ ability to innovate as they adapted to new ways of working, communicating and socializing almost overnight. However, some practices that kept everyone connected during lockdown are now holding people back from doing their jobs effectively. In these unsettled times, when many organizations are operating with fewer employees, anything that stands in the way of peak productivity has got to go.
For example, Shopify is looking to improve efficiencies by purging unnecessary meetings from its employees’ calendars, while companies such as Meta and Atlassian have introduced no-meeting days. Meetings have always been part of corporate life. However, since the pandemic, we’ve been having even more of them.
Remove Unnecessary Meetings
As helpful as it is to catch up with the team or share company updates, too many meetings are counterproductive. We’ve all had those days when we rush from one appointment to the next and don’t tackle our to-do list until the end of the day. Or the entire day is punctuated by meetings, leaving little time for uninterrupted work.
Research shows that professionals typically spend 18 hours per week in meetings, rising to 22.5 hours for managers of at least four direct reports. That’s almost a day of their time and an increase of around 13% on pre-pandemic levels. It would be one thing if these meetings were helpful, but the same research finds that around a third are unnecessary. So, what’s the answer?
Undoubtedly, some meetings have their place and are an opportunity for hybrid teams to get together and collaborate – but they need to be interactive and have a clear objective. More passive meetings, purely for information-sharing, are less constructive and should be revamped. Providing updates in a newsletter that people can read at a time that suits them is often more engaging and less disruptive. Making meetings shorter or less frequent, reducing the number of participants (e.g., inviting only managers who can share the salient points with their teams), or asking employees to attend only those parts of the meeting relevant to them gives them more focus. It also frees up time for people to concentrate on meaningful work so that when they do get together, they’re ready to contribute.
Restore Face-to-Face Communications
People aren’t only meeting more, but they’re also using more collaboration software to do so. During the pandemic, Zoom, Teams, and similar applications provided a vital lifeline when meeting in person wasn’t possible. In a hybrid working set-up, these tools still serve a purpose, helping speed up the interview process, enabling remote teams to collaborate, and facilitating (necessary!) meetings. However, it seems some people are using technology to avoid face-to-face communication at all costs.
This is particularly true of the Gen Z generation entering the workforce. Many are reluctant to pick up the phone, never mind meeting in person. And the more they hide behind digital tools, the more anxious they become about communicating in real life, which could hinder their career development.
For Gen Z, technology is second nature – they’ve grown up with it – but the softer workplace skills they’ve had less exposure to, such as negotiating, networking, and speaking confidently in front of others, have suffered during the pandemic. These skills are learned by observing and doing – and are hard to pick up online.
So, how can managers bridge the gap and help younger employees succeed in the workplace? Encouraging them to step out of their comfort zone is a good start, which could be as simple as arranging a face-to-face (instead of video) meeting to catch up on a project or checking in by phone rather than email. Mentoring or buddy programs can also go a long way to ensuring Gen Z learn from their more experienced peers who have spent more time in an office environment – while reverse mentoring can help them share their (digital) skills alongside acquiring new ones.
Root Out Presenteeism
Another unhealthy habit exacerbated by the pandemic is presenteeism – when someone is physically present for work but mentally absent due to illness, stress, or burnout.
The benefits of working from home are undeniable, but one of the downsides is that people often find it hard to switch off, and when they’re physically or mentally under par, they tend to keep going. When work is a laptop you can access from your sick bed – it’s all too easy to soldier on. Employees think they’re showing commitment, but they’re only delaying their recovery. It’s not good for businesses either – when workers are ill, they’re less productive, less engaged, and more prone to making mistakes. And this costs companies money – around $1,500 billion per year, ten times more than the cost of absenteeism to business.
Employers should actively encourage their staff to fully disconnect from work when they’re unwell – and should spell out the benefits of doing so for their own well-being and that of the business. Ultimately, well-rested, healthy employees are more likely to be happy and productive.
It all comes down to balance and moderation – motivating employees to be engaged in what they do but not to the detriment of their health, participating in meetings but not at the expense of meaningful work, and using technology as a complement to, not a replacement for, face-to-face communications. This year, efficiency needs to be a priority. So, it’s out with the old pandemic practices that are no longer necessary and in with a renewed focus on working smarter and getting back to productivity.
