Forget happy hour — it’s meetings that are giving workers a hangover.
An article recently published in the Harvard Business Review found that people can experience “meeting hangovers” after finishing an unhelpful meeting.
A survey found that more than 90% of employees have suffered from “meeting hangovers,” defined as “a period of diminished focus, motivation, or productivity following a bad meeting.”
“A meeting hangover is the idea that when we have a bad meeting, we just don’t leave it at the door. It sticks with us and it negatively affects our productivity,” Steven Rogelberg, a professor at UNC Charlotte and author of “The Surprising Science of Meetings,” explained to CBS News.
Frustrated workers often continue to reflect and replay what went wrong — in their heads and with their colleagues.
Who hasn’t bonded with their co-workers over work frustrations?
While these venting sessions may feel necessary to get you through the work day, this “co-rumination” can continue to spread negative impacts beyond the water cooler chat.
More than one-quarter (28%) of workplace meetings left employees with lingering negative effects.
The most common causes of “bad” meetings were reported to be:
For those feeling a “meetings hangover” coming on, Rogelberg recommends centering your next venting session with your work bestie on how to manage the situation and your frustration — instead of just whining.
“Chatting with your colleague about how to deal with the situation for the future, getting their thoughts, engaging in sense-making where you’re trying to understand, taking different perspectives on what just happened — those types of conversations increase your skills and your resilience when you do have a bad meeting,” Rogelberg said.