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December 18, 2014

Status meeting attendees would rather watch paint dry

Survey reveals 36% of UK workers think 'bore-a-thon' status meetings are a waste of time.

By Ellie Burns

36% of UK workers think status meetings are a waste of time, according to YouGov survey results announced by Clarizen.

20% of those surveyed said that watching paint dry or watching back-to-back TV Christmas soap specials would be more preferable than attending status meetings.

Although 69% of respondents said that status meetings helped them stay organised at work, four out of 10 respondents admitted to switching off and doing other work like checking emails during the meetings.

The survey found that status meetings varied in length, with some taking all day. The reasons cited for meetings dragging on were ineffectual chairmanship, lack of preparation and show- boating.

The survey also included respondents comments on status meetings, with one saying: "We call them ‘bore-a-thons’. The boss talks for up to three hours. If anyone else has a good idea, she has already had it."

"In those three hours, which amount to a fifth of my working week, we could achieve everything mentioned AND work out how to commit the perfect murder and dispose of her body. Often a bore-a-thon is almost a verbatim repeat of the previous week’s bore-a- thon."

"These results underline how much of the working day can be taken up with preparing for and attending status meetings, which then aren’t an effective use of people’s time," said Avinoam Nowogrodski, founder and CEO of Clarizen.

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"Clarizen enables workers to spend less time in meetings and on email by creating the collaboration, accountability and visibility that is needed across an entire business."

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