The Fewer Meetings The Better
A third of British workers who attend meetings on a regular basis (33%) think the fewer meetings they have to attend the better, according to research conducted by MORI for National Meetings Week (6–10 October 2003).
A third of British workers who attend meetings on a regular basis (33%) think the fewer meetings they have to attend the better, according to research conducted by MORI for National Meetings Week (6-10 October 2003).
Around three in 10 (29%) find meetings often dull, de-motivating and a waste of their time and the money they cost. The same proportion think more meetings will take place 'virtually', because road and rail travel are becoming more costly and prone to delays.
Topline Results
- Fieldwork dates: 28 August - 2 September 2003
- All figures in percentages
- Base: Nationally representative sample of working adults aged 15+ (953) / All workers who attend meetings regularly (535)
- Data have been weighted to the known population profile
- Number of sample points across Britain: 203
- Interviews conducted face-to-face in respondents' homes
- An asterisk represents a percentage less than 0.5 but greater than 0
- Numbers may not always add up to 100% due to computer rounding or multiple answers
I'd now like to ask you a question about meetings. The type of meetings that I am referring to are those which you might attend as part of your work to discuss progress of projects or to arrange for various tasks to be conducted. Based on your experience of such meetings could you please tell me with which of the statements on this card you agree. If you do not attend meetings of this kind please can you tell me.
| Base | All workers (953) | All who attend meetings regularly (535) |
|---|---|---|
| % | % | |
| The fewer meetings I have to attend, the better | 23 | 33 |
| Meetings I attend are too often dull, de-motivating and a waste of my time and the money they cost | 20 | 29 |
| With road and rail travel becoming more costly and prone to delays, I foresee more meetings taking place 'virtually' using video cameras to connect delegates from their offices | 19 | 29 |
| I would like to be consulted by my boss on how to improve the meetings he/she organises | 14 | 21 |
| I admit to having made excuses to get out of some of the meetings I am meant to attend | 13 | 19 |
| Meetings deserve the bad reputation they often have because they seem to achieve so little | 13 | 19 |
| My boss would not be very receptive to criticism about the meetings he/she organises | 12 | 19 |
| Discourteous behaviour seems to be on the increase at meetings I attend, for example, by delegates who interrupt, show off, arrive late, or generally show a lack respect for others | 9 | 14 |
| I envy people who say they attend meetings that are well-chaired and to the point | 8 | 12 |
| I do not attend meetings very often | 16 | - |
| I do not attend any meetings | 26 | - |
| None of these | 12 | 21 |
| Don't know | 1 | 2 |
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