75% of employees often lose focus during virtual meetings: Survey

Three in four employees in Australia stop paying full attention during virtual meetings either every time or often, while 61per cent say at least half of attendees appear to be multitasking, according to research by people2people Recruitment.

The survey of more than 1,200 respondents found only 8per cent   never lose focus during virtual meetings. When attention drifts, 40per cent browse online, 32per cent work on other tasks and 6per cent check messages.

Relevance drives disengagement

Lack of relevance was the top reason for disengagement, cited by 39per cent of respondents. This was followed by meetings running too long at 29per cent and having too many meetings at 23per cent.

According to Suhini Wijayasinghe, Head of HR Solutions at people2people Recruitment, the issue extends beyond virtual meetings.

Disengagement can happen just as easily around a boardroom table as it can on a video call. Such behaviour can result in missed information, repeated discussions, slower decision-making, and employees leaving meetings without a clear understanding of what was agreed.

Older workers report higher disengagement

Gen X and Baby Boomers were most likely to lose focus during every virtual meeting, at 59per cent, compared with 46per cent of Millennials and 31per cent of Gen Z.

When those who lose focus "often" are included, the figures rise to 88per cent for Gen X and Baby Boomers, 76per cent for Millennials and 74per cent for Gen Z.

Multitasking habits also varied. More than half of Gen Z respondents, at 54per cent, and 50per cent of Millennials said they browse online during meetings, while 48per cent of Gen X and Baby Boomers said they continue working on other tasks.

Rethinking meetings

The findings suggest employers may need to reconsider meetings as the default for every update or decision.

Shorter meetings, clearer agendas, fewer attendees and defined actions could help improve engagement, while written or asynchronous updates could replace meetings where real-time discussion is unnecessary.