Ever been trapped in a meeting that made you question all your life choices? You know the one. You show up on time (because you’re a responsible adult), but the host is late. Half the room (or Zoom) is distracted, secretly answering emails or perfecting their doodling skills. There’s no agenda—just a vague promise of “alignment”—which translates to an hour of rambling, side tangents, and at least one person using corporate jargon like “let’s circle back” or “boil the ocean.”
Then, just when you think it’s over, someone pipes up with, “I just have one quick thing…” and suddenly, you’ve lost another 15 minutes of your life you’ll never get back. The meeting ends with no decisions, no action items, and a promise to “revisit this in the next meeting.” Fantastic.
Sound familiar? Bad meetings don’t just waste time—they slowly erode workplace culture, one awkward silence at a time.
How Bad Meetings Poison Your Culture
1. They Murder Productivity
A pointless meeting is the office equivalent of a time-sucking black hole. Instead of doing actual work, employees are stuck listening to Steve from Finance go on another philosophical rant about spreadsheets. The more unnecessary meetings, the less people get done, and the more they resent the meeting overlords who keep scheduling them.
2. They Destroy Trust in Leadership
Nothing screams “We don’t know what we’re doing” quite like a meeting with no agenda, no outcomes, and no follow-up. When leaders constantly call meetings that feel like a waste of time, employees stop believing that their contributions matter. Worse, they start playing Meeting Bingo just to survive (if “let’s take this offline” gets said three more times, Kelly from HR wins).
3. They Make Inclusion a Joke
If every meeting is just the loudest voices talking over everyone else, it sends a clear message: Only certain opinions matter. When people don’t feel heard, they disengage. And the next time they do have a brilliant idea? They’ll save it for a company that actually listens.
4. They Turn Decision-Making Into a Never-Ending Soap Opera
Bad meeting culture thrives on endless discussions with no actual decisions. Everything needs one more meeting—and then another. Suddenly, what should have taken 10 minutes has dragged on for weeks. Meanwhile, your competitors have already launched, pivoted, and are sipping cocktails on a yacht somewhere.
Fixing the Meeting Madness
To prevent your workplace from becoming a graveyard of wasted hours:
- Have a Clear Purpose – If you don’t know why you’re meeting, don’t. Just don’t.
- Only Invite Necessary People – If they can contribute or make a decision, they’re in. If they’re just there to listen, send an email instead.
- Make It Engaging – Set time limits, encourage participation, and ban corporate buzzword Olympics.
- Use Tech Wisely – Not everything needs a meeting. Try Slack, Loom, or—radical idea—just send an email.
- End with Action – No meeting should end without clear next steps. Otherwise, you’ll be back in the same room next week, having the same conversation, wondering how you got here.
At the end of the day, meetings should build culture, not kill it. So, the next time you’re about to schedule a meeting, ask yourself: Could this be an email? If the answer is yes, do the world a favour—press send and set everyone free.
Struggling with meeting overload and its impact on your team’s culture? Reach out to us for tailored strategies to enhance leadership effectiveness and foster a productive workplace environment.
