Reclaim.ai, an intelligent productivity and time blocking app for Google Calendar used by more than 6,000 companies globally, released a free productivity trends report that reveals longer work days and increased meeting load in the wake of remote workplaces.
The report reveals that busy professionals are spending 25.3 percent more time in meetings compared to February 2020, and 308.8 percent more time in one-on-one meetings specifically. The report is released in conjunction with Smart 1:1s, Reclaim’s feature that automates scheduling for one-on-one meetings.
One-on-one meetings were found to be a key driver for the overall increase in meetings and longer workdays. Weekly one-on-ones increased to 5.9 hours, 17.8 percent of the average meeting load, compared to 1.4 hours, or 5.5 percent in February 2020, a 226.3 percent increase as a percentage of weekly meetings.
Moreover, one-on-one meetings were rescheduled at a rate of 42.4 percent, and cancelled 29.6 percent of the time. This is an indication that busy professionals are running out of time during the workweek.
Key findings from the report include:
- Busy professionals are working longer days – The average workday went from 8.95 hours to 10.13 hours for those with more than 15 meetings a week.
- Less busy professionals are working longer – Those who had fewer than 15 meetings a week saw their average workday go from 7.52 hours to 8.92 hours.
- Meeting load increased across the board – The average busy professional is spending an additional 6.7 hours in meetings each week.
- One-on-ones as a share of meetings more than tripled – More than any other factor, time in one-on-one meetings grew 308.8 percent from 1.4 hours to 5.9 hours a week.
- Duration of meetings decreased, but there are more of them – Meetings were 9.1 percent shorter, and one-on-ones were 4.8 percent shorter, even as the average count of meetings increased from 28.5 to 39.9, and one-on-ones grew from 2.0 to 8.6.
The report found workdays are getting longer, meeting load is increasing and scheduling is becoming more complex in remote workplaces.
To read the first full meeting trends report, visit Reclaim.ai’s website here.
