Four in ten office workers (39%) feel that work meetings should be kept to 30 minutes or less in length – although it takes just 10-and-a-half minutes for the average employee to “zone out” of a “pointless” meeting, a study has found.

A poll of 2,000 office-based workers revealed that nearly half (47%) feel meetings or calls are more productive and engaging if kept to under half an hour.

However, 45% have refused to attend a meeting if they believe it concerns something that could have been addressed in an email.

And on average, they feel they are called into three “unnecessary” meetings each week – with the subject matter (60%), and the person hosting the meeting (44%) most likely to be the things making it boring or tedious.

This adds up to a whopping 213 hours a year, or 27 working days, spent in “dull” meetings that could have been covered in an email, the research found.

And nearly half (47%) will turn off their camera on a video call, and getting on with other working tasks, if they deem a meeting to be pointless.

Meanwhile, a brazen one in five (21%) will do some online shopping, while 11% will even stick on the TV, while they are sat in a work call. One in six (16%) have filled the time tidying the house, and 17% have made themselves some lunch during a call.

The research was commissioned by Brother UK, which has launched its Meaningful Meeting Manifesto, to shine a light on productive meetings and best practice.

Grieg Millar, chief revenue officer at the business technology firm, said: “Attending a meeting which is ultimately meaningless might seem like an inconsequential thing at the time – but these calls and catch-ups all add up.

“The commercial impact on businesses can be significant. Essentially, every minute spent in an unproductive meeting is a minute not spent on revenue-generating activities.

“That’s why we created the Meaningful Meeting Manifesto, to help more businesses boost workplace productivity, and ensure their meetings are focused, valuable, and deliver the right outcomes.

“It's not just about the hours wasted, it's about the commercial loss – and businesses that recognise this, and change their meeting cultures, will create new opportunities to be more productive.”

The research went on to find that the time of day that meetings and calls are scheduled for can also have an impact on boredom levels, according to 39% of workers who attend meetings, the OnePoll.com research found.

For instance, 38% admit they are unlikely to accept an invite for a meeting to take place after 4pm. This could be because half of office workers have already “clocked-off” mentally by that point, with another 31% downing tools between 4pm and 5pm.

Mike Anderson, also from Brother UK, added: “The UK has a problem with meaningless meetings – and in the pursuit of better productivity, we have to get more businesses to kick the habit of needless calls and catch-ups that waste time.

“By challenging the meeting status quo, we hold the keys to unlocking a more productive work environment by focusing on time, structure, and better facilitation.

“Advocating for clear objectives, well-defined agendas, and post-meeting actions, injects purpose into meetings. Attendees come prepared, which leads to focused discussions and timely decision-making.

“What’s more, keeping them short, and hosting when people feel the most energised, helps deliver better results.

“Our research shows four in five feel most productive between 9am and 12pm – which suggests this period should be maximised for effective collaboration.”