The attention economy is facing a significant challenge in internal meetings, with 60% of Australians reporting that more than half of their colleagues multitask during virtual meetings, according to a survey by People2People Recruitment.
Maintaining attention during meetings is a challenge for businesses, with 75% of survey respondents saying they stop paying full attention during every or most virtual meetings.
Causes of Distraction
Among the 1200 survey respondents, the most common reason for losing focus was that a meeting was not relevant to the respondent, cited by 39%. Other reasons included meetings running too long, attending too many meetings, and notifications.
40% of respondents said they browse online during meetings, while 32% complete other work and 6% check messages. Only 22% said they do nothing else during meetings.
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Expert Insight
According to Suhini Wijayasinghe, head of HR solutions at People2People Recruitment, “The attention economy is crashing inside meetings, whether they are virtual or face-to-face.” She emphasizes that a meeting should earn an employee’s attention by having a defined purpose, inviting only relevant people, and making it clear why their participation matters.
Suhini Wijayasinghe notes that a meeting should have a clear purpose and invite only relevant people to contribute or make a decision, and it should be clear why their participation matters.
Age Group Differences
The survey found differences in behavior across age groups. 59% of Gen X and Baby Boomer respondents said they stop paying full attention in every virtual meeting, compared with 46% of Millennials and 31% of Gen Z respondents.
More than half of Gen Z and Millennials said they browsed the web when distracted, while almost half of Gen X and Baby Boomers continued working on other tasks. Suhini Wijayasinghe points out that the behavior looks different, but the result is the same: the meeting does not have their full attention.
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Recommendations for Improvement
To address the issue of distracted meetings, People2People recommends shorter meetings, clear agendas, fewer participants, and defined decisions and actions. These measures can support decision-making, accountability, and productivity.
Suhini Wijayasinghe said, “Virtual meetings are not inherently ineffective, but unfocused meetings are expensive.” By implementing these strategies, businesses can help maintain their employees’ attention and make meetings more productive.
Businesses can review how they organise meetings, communicating updates that do not require discussion in writing or through asynchronous channels. This approach can help reduce distractions and ensure that meetings are more focused and effective.
