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If you’re one of those workers who live in fear of the stacked blocks of the Microsoft Outlook calendar detailing back-to-back meetings, this new discovery won’t surprise you, but we still need science to confirm what we all knew anecdotally.
Researchers in Microsoft’s brainwave activity took a look at our minds at the back-to-back virtual meetings and didn’t like what they saw happening there among the gray matter.
The research, released Tuesday, confirmed that back-to-back virtual meetings are stressful. And the investigation results in some clemency reaching out to Outlook users on Tuesday. But really, just a splinter.
Microsoft adds a customizable Outlook feature to set shorter meetings as defaults and require pauses before another meeting begins.
“Our research shows that breaks are important, not only to make us less exhausted at the end of the day, but to improve our ability to concentrate and participate in these meetings,” said Michael Bohan, senior director of the group. of Microsoft Human Factor Engineering. in a new report.
For the research, 14 people participated in video meetings while wearing electroencephalogram (EEG) equipment to measure brain activity, attending one day of four half-hour meetings in a row, while on another day four meetings. half an hour interspersed with 10-minute breaks. The lack of breaks caused peaks in the beta waves associated with the accumulation of stress near the transition periods between meetings, while the breaks allowed the brains to be restored and to stick better.
The full report shows images of the actual appearance of the human brain “in meeting.”
Microsoft’s effort to better understand how new work models are changing our well-being and productivity, and the links between the two, occur as it is one of the main beneficiaries of the move to remote work and, moreover, depends on the technology and the cloud to connect people through virtual platforms like their computers. He is also among the most liberal corporate leaders on the future of work, and announced last October that he would allow his workers up to 50% to work from home without the manager’s approval.
“Hybrid work is the future of work … but that doesn’t mean the transition to that future will come without its challenges,” said Jared Spataro, corporate vice president, in a blog post announcing the new functions of Outlook.
“Digital overload is real”
Several recent Microsoft research projects have uncovered ways in which remote work affects well-being, or as Spataro wrote: “Digital overload is real and something needs to change.”
Microsoft has been concerned about the commitment, as remote work extends beyond a year since last March, when the Covid pandemic revalued the traditional office culture. A recent survey of its workers showed that the team’s commitment has waned in recent months and that it has led the tech giant to remind managers that they need to be more attuned to fatigue factors in their way of doing things. lead to the future.
Not all companies rush to adopt remote work for most of their employees either, and with half the adult population in the United States finally receiving a vaccine, more workers will return to the offices and more employers will be fixed. its own limits in the office versus remote. A Harvard remote work expert recently told CNBC that the “vast majority” of companies will exist in a “hybrid state.” But he is advising companies to achieve a balance that works for suite C, teams and individual employees.
The new Microsoft Outlook update is aimed at both the individual and the organization.
There are two options for those companies using Outlook that are looking for a respite for meetings: people can set their own default meeting values for a shorter duration. In addition, companies can set shorter meeting defaults and create space for breaks for all employees, for example, a five-minute break before all 30-minute meetings or a 15-minute break after meetings. of an hour. People can cancel the new company setup when their own meeting is being set up, but they will receive a notification about the organizational change.
Of course, change does not necessarily mean that a worker in a culture where meetings are endless will see a new world of work created moving away from endless meetings.
“Even a short time between these meetings can help,” the company said in a statement announcing the new feature.
Those 14 individuals who had wires connected to the brain are not the only pioneers in this research effort. It is a massive experiment that is reproduced every day through screens.
“Consecutive meetings that have become the norm over the last twelve months are unsustainable,” Spataro wrote. “Outlook and Microsoft Teams are used by millions of people around the world, and this small change can help customers develop new cultural norms and improve the well-being of everyone.”
“Left.”
“Small.”
It is knowing the mercy of culture, not revision.
“10-minute breaks between meetings create a reset that means you’ll stay in a calm, relaxed state, even after four meetings,” Microsoft noted in an announcement about the changes. “The transition from one meeting to the next is a great source of stress.”
Of course, it’s not Microsoft’s job to tell other companies how to manage their office crops, so it reduces consecutive stress on the margins, but in the end, they’ll still send you back to more meetings, just in time for hydrate or consume enough calories to stay upright, or meditate for five minutes to eliminate the damage from the last meeting of your head.
“Essential breaks,” the company said, so organizations can still be seen as more essential meetings.