Best-Paying Companies Spend More Time in Meetings, Research Finds
New economic research involving over 9,000 workers suggests companies that spend more on meetings also pay higher wages, indicating meetings' role in learning and knowledge transfer.
Economists have found a correlation between the amount of time companies dedicate to meetings and the wages they pay their employees. A study tracking over 9,000 workers revealed that firms investing more resources in meetings are also those that offer higher compensation.
The research, which utilized administrative employer-employee data from Norway, found that meetings account for an average of 12% of work hours and 14% of a firm's wage bill. These activities primarily involve planning, problem-solving, information sharing, and project coordination.
Notably, high-paying, high-revenue firms allocate more resources to meetings compared to their lower-paying counterparts. This pattern is counterintuitive, as these companies face a higher opportunity cost when expensive employees spend time in meetings instead of direct output.
Researchers propose that meetings serve not only as a coordination mechanism but also as a crucial site for learning. The intensity and frequency of meetings are positively linked to wage growth, particularly through interactions between junior and senior staff, facilitating knowledge transmission. The study likens meetings to "the broccoli of work," widely disliked but potentially beneficial.