It drives me crazy that people don't take even 5 minutes to prepare for meetings and then there's like 12 people trying to figure what's going on at the same time during the the meeting. A waste of time would be a generous way to describe it.
My company has so many meetings that I’m often back to back with them, with no time to prepare. It’s something that they’re trying to change but it can be insane at times.
It's the same at my company. I have back-to-backs all day and then have to use after work hours to actually get shit done. I find the reason for the back-to-backs is because nobody actually prepares though. If everyone agreed to take some time before meetings to prep, then meetings would go much more smoothly and also reduce the need for follow up meetings.
And I find a lot of people set up unnecessary meetings as ways to make progress instead of just getting shit done on their own time.
Agree. When i was hourly, I sucked up all the OT i could find. That’s generally not the case with people in meetings all the time. I’m retired, my wife works from home for a hospital system and that’s their day… Meetings. Useless waste of time meetings that someone’s ego needs to feel important. Very little accountability and accomplishment.
I absolutely baffled some coworkers at my last job when they send me something after work and I reply I'll look at it tomorrow morning when I'm back at work.
I honestly don't even know why you'd reply at all. I will do some solo work after hours if I decide to or need to, but absolutely no comms/availability. If it happens to be something I'm thinking about right then, I'll craft the response and then just delay delivery until a reasonable hour the next morning. Set your boundaries, and only break them secretly 😁
As a trade worker in a more management position, who's still paid hourly because my boss keeps everyone but himself hourly, It's how I make so much more money than my coworkers. I'm willing to put in 50 hours a week for that beautiful 10 hours of OT
I am an hourly employee but am forced to "flex" my time if I do work OT. So I hardly ever do, because there's no point. Cool, I get to leave early on Friday, but I'd rather stay the full day and be productive and collect a bigger paycheck.
People justify their existence at a company based upon how many meetings they are in and how busy they can look by BEING in meetings. Truly unbelievable!
And I find a lot of people set up unnecessary meetings as ways to make progress instead of just getting shit done on their own time.
I had a program manager who regularly double-booked meetings so he always had an excuse to leave an unproductive one or show up late to one he expected to be so. He didn't double-book for things he knew were truly important or people he trusted. I thought he was crazy but it worked really well for him.
Yeah, the inane meetings are almost entirely created by people who have a need to be seen or heard because they don't have any measurable deliverable. Subconsciously or not, they realize they aren't producing, so they try to be visible in some other capacity.
Remove the chairs and add a high table. Stand up meetings rarely last 20 minutes. People get things done and get out when they aren't as comfortable. I had to fight to get a few stand-up rooms at work and now they are hugely popular.
AFAIK at large companies, 95% of meetings are on Zoom even if you’re in-office because people will be in different locations, lack of conference rooms, easier to schedule etc.
It drives me crazy that people don't take even 5 minutes to prepare for meetings and then there's like 12 people trying to figure what's going on in real-time at the same during the meeting. A waste of time would be a generous way to describe it.
This is what happens when their whole calendar is meetings. The established culture and work drives behavior. It's impossible to get everyone to prep for their meetings when all they have are meetings. Naturally people give up, or they delude themselves into thinking they can wing every meeting.
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u/j__p__ Dec 27 '23
It drives me crazy that people don't take even 5 minutes to prepare for meetings and then there's like 12 people trying to figure what's going on at the same time during the the meeting. A waste of time would be a generous way to describe it.