10:30am Wednesday 28th October 2009
Most office workers have to attend regular meetings but many believe they are a waste of time and devise ways of relieving the boredom, new research has revealed.
A survey of 500 office staff showed that half asked for a toilet break to escape from a meeting while others constantly checked their mobile phones, played word games – or flirted.
The study by sandwich chain Subway showed that most of those questioned had to attend an average of eight meetings a week.
One in 10 said they had fallen asleep during a meeting, while a similar number played word games in their notebooks to keep awake.
Ruth Badger, star of BBC’s The Apprentice, said: “Meetings are important but they don’t have to be boring or a waste of time.
“The key advice for heads of meetings is keep everyone fed and watered, keep to a strict agenda, make sure everyone in the room has a part to play, and ensure that the meeting lasts no longer than is absolutely necessary."
Respondents said the worst places they had held meetings included inside a car, in the underwear department of a department store and in a windowless, airless room with a picture of a beach all along one wall.
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