{
  "id": 10861914,
  "title": "Arbeitszeit: Teuer und ineffizient? So viel hat Ihr letztes Meeting gekostet",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/arbeitszeit-teuer-und-ineffizient-so-viel-hat-ihr-letztes-meeting",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-30T05:06:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/karriere/fuehrungskraefte-wie-viel-geld-und-zeit-kosten-die-meetings-ihrer-mitarbeiter/100245523.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "Deutschland loses around 80 billion Euros annually due to inefficient meetings, according to Meeting software firm Doodle's 2019 \"State of Meetings Report\". When adjusted for inflation, the cost rises to approximately 64 billion Euros per year. The Handelsblatt has created a calculator to help determine the cost of meetings, including an estimate of their inefficiency. A key factor in assessing meeting inefficiency is the number of participants, as indicated by a Microsoft study using online meetings. This study found a strong correlation between perceived inclusiveness and efficiency of meetings, suggesting that the number of attendees is the primary factor influencing inclusiveness and meeting efficiency. Meetings with two or three participants are perceived as highly inclusive by over 90% of participants, while meetings with six or more participants see this perception drop to 67%. For meetings with more than 15 participants, only one-third of attendees feel included and perceive the meeting as efficient. Study author Lev Tankelevitch notes, \"Fewer people do not always mean a better meeting, but for each person, it must be clear why they are participating.\" Smaller meetings are often more satisfying for participants, as they offer more opportunities for involvement and a higher likelihood of individual contribution, leading to greater perceived efficiency. Some companies have implemented specific rules for meeting sizes. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos established a limit of eight people per meeting, while Bayer follows a similar approach. Nisha Mahendrarajan, Bayer's core team for meeting culture, emphasizes that no one should attend a meeting they cannot contribute to or benefit from, and they are even encouraged to leave early if necessary. Many employees were surprised to learn that Bayer could save 124 million Euros annually if all employees attended meetings that were one hour shorter each week. This illustrates the importance of efficient meetings. However, other factors such as having an agenda, starting and ending on time also influence meeting efficiency. Companies such as Microsoft have aligned their meeting guidelines with these insights and are distributing similar catalogs within their organization. The meeting calculator, therefore, cannot provide a definitive answer about the necessity of a meeting, but rather serves as a scientific basis to question whether a meeting truly needed to take place.",
  "summary": "Corporate Deutschland sitzt und redet. Doch viele Meetings liefern wenig Output. Der Handelsblatt-Rechner hilft Ihnen, Kosten von Meetings besser zu schätzen – und diese effizienter zu führen.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Handelsblatt",
        "title": "Arbeitszeit: Teuer und ineffizient? So viel hat Ihr letztes Meeting gekostet",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/arbeitszeit-teuer-und-ineffizient-so-viel-hat-ihr-letztes-meeting",
        "published": "2026-09-28T05:20:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}