{
  "id": 19776452,
  "title": "Meetings are a waste of money",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/meetings-are-a-waste-of-money",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-13T07:01:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Klement on Investing",
    "slug": "klement-on-investing",
    "url": "https://klementoninvesting.substack.com/p/meetings-are-a-waste-of-money"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Meetings are widely considered to be an inefficient use of time, as evidenced by the popular saying that \"this meeting could have been an email.\" However, it appears that not only are meetings a waste of time, but they also represent a significant financial drain on organizations. A recent survey of over 9,000 workers in the US found that managers spend significantly more time in meetings than non-managers, and the number of meetings has increased in the post-pandemic world, with online meetings surpassing in-person ones. Interestingly, men, older workers, and those with a college degree tend to spend more time in meetings than their counterparts. However, the most surprising finding is that people in finance and IT sectors have more meetings per week than those in public administration, indicating that the private sector is not immune to meeting-related inefficiencies. Furthermore, the study estimates that the cost of meetings can be as high as 20% of the wage bill in finance and IT, compared to just 10% in the retail sector. This suggests that meetings are not only a time sink but also a substantial financial burden for organizations, particularly in finance and IT.",
  "summary": "I think I don’t have to belabour the point that many (most?",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "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."
}