Workers spend equivalent of 2 days in meetings, on email, study finds

Email, meetings worker study overview: 

• Who: Microsoft has revealed the results of its annual study on workplace productivity trends. 
• Why: The study found workers spend the equivalent of two workdays per week either in meetings or writing or sending emails. 
• Where: Nationwide. 

New study data from Microsoft has revealed that workers spend the equivalent of two workdays per week either in meetings or on their email accounts. 

Microsoft gleaned the data — obtained for its annual study on workplace productivity trends — from millions of workers who used its business applications, The Wall Street Journal reports. 

The point of Microsoft’s study is reportedly to determine how employees spend their workdays, with the review centering on how emails, data, meetings and notifications distract workers from work they are supposed to be doing. 

Microsoft researchers found that, of the 25% most active users of its business applications, workers spent an average of 8.8 hours each week reading or writing emails, and an average of 7.5 hours each week logging meetings, The Wall Street Journal reports. 

Workers also spent time either on the phone, instant messaging or engaged in spontaneous conversation with co-workers, with the average employee spending a total of 57% of their time using Microsoft’s software for communication purposes. 

Researchers determined that workers’ spent the other 43% of their time doing creative projects, such as writing presentations or creating spreadsheets, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Majority of workers struggle to find time to do their actual job, Microsoft study says

In a separate survey conducted by Microsoft, meanwhile, almost 2 in 3 respondents from a total of 31,000 individuals across the globe said they found it difficult to find enough time to do their actual jobs. 

Individuals who responded this way were also more than three times as likely to declare that strategic thinking and innovation were an obstacle for them, The Wall Street Journal reports. 

A 2022 Harris Poll survey of more than 1,200 workers and executives, meanwhile, determined workers lost an average of 7.47 hours of productivity each week on account of issues with communication. 

The amount of lost time, which was established by bosses estimates, cost businesses a total of $12,506 per employee each year — based on an average annual salary of $66,967, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

In February, the results of a six-month trial involving dozens of businesses testing out a four-day work week saw 91% of survey respondents declare that they would definitely continue with the model going forward. 

Do you spend a good part of your workday in meetings or on your email account? Let us know in the comments.

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