From palaverism to productive meetings

Background

”Palaverism” describes a new trend that has become even stronger due to the COVID 19 pandemic, where the time spent in close and remote meetings increased, especially in expert, information and development work. A huge amount of time and staff effort is invested in meetings, but little is known about their content and consequences for employees and organizations. The project examines employees’ and supervisors’ experiences concerning meetings’ quality and significance in terms of well-being at work and work productivity by means of survey and interview research.

Objectives

1. How do employees and supervisors rate the number, quality and effectiveness of work meetings?
2. Are there differences in meeting experiences between the format of the meeting (in person, remote, hybrid), background factors (e.g. age, gender, position, work experience) and different business and professional fields?
3. How are the number of meetings and their experienced quality, efficiency, satisfaction, and meeting orientation connected to work well-being and performance at work?
4. How have the supervisors themselves experienced the meetings and their conduct? What are the most important challenges related to different meeting formats? How can meeting experiences be positively influenced?

Data and methods

The research focuses on personnel in the trade sector, public sector and white-collar work. The project collects extensive survey material from two trade unions and three target organizations working in expert, clerical and managerial positions (n=70,000). The cross-sectional survey will be implemented in the fall of 2024 and the diary survey in the spring of 2025. In addition, 30 supervisors will be interviewed using a structured theme interview.

Results and impact

The research produces information about meeting experiences and their connections to well-being at work and work performance in working life after the corona pandemic. The project produces new quantitative and qualitative information and research-based proposals for the development of meetings. To support the development of meetings at the working communities, a survey inventory on the quality and functionality of meeting practices is produced, for organizations to use.

Project group

Anne Mäkikangas, project leader
Esa Jokinen, project researcher
Sanna Markkula, project researcher
Saija Mauno
Pekka Isotalus