If work meetings are filling your week, organisational expert Ken Hudson says it's time to push back

Too many work meetings can leave people feeling drained, overwhelmed and like they're constantly playing catch-up.

And since the rise of remote and flexible work, there's been a steady increase in both the number and duration of meetings.

According to the Union of International Organizations (UIA), which surveyed workplaces in 262 countries, the number of meetings held rose by approximately 11 per cent from 2022 to 2023. Figures from the US show workers spend an average of 18 hours per week in meetings.

Organisational facilitator, trainer and scholar Ken Hudson says there's a negative impact on productivity for those who feel like they have too many meetings.

"It's actually in everyone's interest to have the minimum number of people at a meeting that can all contribute and be 100 per cent clear as to why they are there," Dr Hudson says.

So, is there a way to reduce our meetings and to feel energised, rather than drained, by them? 

'Stuck in meetings'

Dr Hudson works with companies in Australia to improve the way their meetings are run.

Often that involves shortening them.

Reducing a meeting from one hour to 45 minutes, for example, is a small change that can free up time for those attending to check emails or take a break before another meeting.

He also encourages workplaces to be more selective about who needs to attend, as being called into unnecessary meetings is likely to lead to reduced morale.

It can even impact a worker's health and mental wellbeing, particularly if they're attending meetings they feel are "unproductive or not well run, [or at which] they couldn't make a contribution or they weren't heard", Dr Hudson says.

But it can be difficult to decline a meeting invitation.

There's a risk of seeming uninterested in the topic being discussed, Dr Hudson says.

But he says "pushing back slightly" on having to attend unproductive meetings "is entirely reasonable".

He believes good leaders are likely to respond positively. A modern manager should be able to concede that, "actually, now you bring it up, that's fair enough", he says.

Dr Hudson believes there's also a historical hang-up at play with meeting attendance. He says in the past people have felt like they had to be seen attending meetings and working long hours out of fear of being judged on their activity rather than their outcomes.

"Whereas I think … that's actually an outdated idea," he says.

Dr Hudson recommends employees don't waste time in unnecessary meetings just to be seen as "a team player".

He says changing a culture of too many meetings ultimately rests with organisation leaders — and he encourages them to be "more respectful" of employees' time.

And just because things have been run in a certain way in the past, it doesn't mean they need to continue that way, he says. It's an attitude more companies are beginning to adopt.

"The default behaviour was, 'Let's call a meeting'. Whereas it's changing now to … 'Let's call a meeting as a last resort'.

"Maybe I can send an email or text to find out information rather than having a full-blown meeting involving a lot of people."

Circles and huddles

When meetings are required, there are ways to help those attending to come away feeling energised.

One way to do that is by ensuring attendees feel safe and heard during the meeting, says Christina Baldwin, co-author of The Circle Way, a book about improving how staff work together, and a trained facilitator in "circle meetings" — meetings held in a circle formation.

Baldwin says communicating in a circle changes a meeting significantly, something she first observed around 30 years ago at an environmental activism retreat.

"We began noticing that there was an energy that evolved in those groups," she tells ABC RN's This Working Life.

She witnessed "people come alive" in circle meeting spaces. It's a formation that she says changes the "attitude that comes into the chairs".

Baldwin now advocates that, for organisations where physical meetings are run, people sit in a circle, which makes it easier for everyone to share their voice.

"At the beginning of the meeting, I love to have people recite, 'Here's why I'm here, here's what I need, here's what I have to contribute,'" she says.

"Everybody checks in with that, and at the end of the meeting, the check-out is, 'Here's whether I got what I needed. Here's what I volunteered to do. Here was my surprise'. Then you're done."

Checking in with everyone individually allows people to safely "bring their whole selves to a meeting", she says.

"There are people who are having a really hard day. But they're free to say it. They're free to say, you know, I'm at 70 per cent today, and I'm here. But this is about how much you can count on me."

Dr Hudson has noticed more companies using a similar type of strategy, which they might refer to as huddles, sprints or stand-up meetings, rather than circle meetings.

"I think there's a greater sense of, let's get together … but let's make it short and quick and sharp," he says.

"I think also, just in a general sense, meetings have become less formal. And that's a step forward in terms of productivity."

Dr Hudson's final tip for a really good meeting is to make sure it's centred on a strong sense of purpose.

"The meetings today and, in the future, are increasingly shorter [and] sharper, and the purpose is crystal clear," he says.

"And only the people that can actually make a contribution should be there."