Why Are Meetings so Awful?

A deep dive into why meetings are (usually) so horrible and what you can actually do about it.

This morning, a friend told me he had to cut our conversation short, as he was heading into a work meeting. As he was saying it, his tone and bright disposition nose-dived. His mood was suddenly so down that I intuitively blurted out “Are you getting fired?”

“No,” he chuckled, “worse. It’s a budget meeting.”

Of course, he wasn’t getting fired. He was just responding like we all do when we’re about to attend a meeting. Because meetings are awful.

In the realm of office life – or really, life in general – there's a common enemy that unites us all: meetings. A collective sigh seems to escape whenever mentions of meetings are uttered, and the phrase "I have a meeting" can evoke dread like no other. But why is this the case?

Why do we, collectively, harbor such animosity toward something that should be a collaborative and productive activity?

Flåm, Norway. Photo Credit: Us

Oh, wait. As someone who helps build stronger teams, I have answers.

Here are the problems with most meetings. You can put t…