For many modern professionals, the daily calendar is a gauntlet of back-to-back video calls, status updates, and collaborative syncs. While the collective groan of the workforce regarding meeting fatigue is well-documented, a groundbreaking new study suggests that this professional burden may be a reliable proxy for career advancement. A working paper published this month by researchers at Harvard University and the Norwegian School of Economics, titled "Meetings," provides the first large-scale economic analysis of workplace interaction, identifying a striking correlation between the time spent in meetings and personal wage growth.
The study, released via the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), utilized data from an original survey of more than 9,000 workers to quantify the impact of meetings on the modern labor market. While meetings are often colloquially dismissed as "the broccoli of work"—a necessary but frequently unpalatable component of a healthy corporate diet—the findings suggest they are far more than mere administrative friction. Instead, they appear to be a fundamental mechanism through which organizations facilitate complex production and reward the employees who keep these streams flowing.
Chronology and Methodology of the Research
The research project was initiated to address a significant gap in labor economics: while anecdotal evidence regarding the "meeting culture" has existed for decades, there has been a dearth of empirical data analyzing how these interactions translate into economic outcomes. Over the course of the study, researchers tracked various metrics of work-related activities, ranging from autonomous, "heads-down" tasks to highly collaborative sessions.
The study’s timeline focused on analyzing the relationship between time-use patterns and salary progression over time. By categorizing work into distinct activities—solo work, email correspondence, administrative tasks, and meetings—the researchers were able to isolate the impact of face-to-face or virtual interaction. The results indicated that for the average employee, approximately 12% of their total work hours are consumed by meetings. However, those who occupied the higher end of that percentage spectrum consistently demonstrated higher salary trajectories.
Data Analysis and Key Findings
The NBER paper establishes that the frequency and intensity of meetings serve as the single strongest predictor of wage increases among the workplace activities studied. This finding challenges the conventional wisdom that individual output, often measured by solo productivity, is the primary driver of salary growth.
According to the data, the relationship is not merely coincidental. Employees who spend a higher proportion of their time in meetings are frequently those tasked with "coordinating highly specialized, complex production." In the modern knowledge economy, where cross-functional teams are the norm, the ability to act as a hub for information and strategy is highly valued. The study suggests that companies are essentially paying a premium for the coordination work that occurs within these sessions.
Supporting data from the research suggests that as tasks become more complex, the need for human-to-human interaction increases linearly. For a firm to ship a product or satisfy a client, disparate departments must align their goals. The meetings serve as the "cost" of that alignment, and those who facilitate it—or who are deemed essential enough to be included in those high-level discussions—are effectively signaling their increased value to the organization.
The Nuance of Correlation Versus Causation
While the findings are compelling, the authors of the study, including Harvard economist David Deming, are careful to emphasize a critical distinction: correlation does not imply that simply scheduling more meetings will result in a raise. The "meeting-heavy" schedule is a byproduct of a specific type of work, rather than the cause of the increased compensation.
In professional settings, high-value roles are rarely defined by repetitive, solitary tasks. Instead, they are defined by their centrality to the organization’s operations. An employee who is invited to every key meeting is usually someone who holds specialized knowledge or plays a critical role in decision-making processes. Therefore, the meetings are a symptom of the employee’s seniority and necessity, rather than the mechanical driver of their paycheck. The study warns against the assumption that "padding the calendar" will lead to career advancement; rather, it suggests that the nature of one’s responsibilities naturally gravitates toward more collaborative environments as one ascends the corporate ladder.
The Paradox of Productivity
Despite the positive correlation between meetings and wages, the research highlights a persistent tension in the modern workplace. The study corroborates findings from other industry reports, such as those from Resume Now, which suggest that approximately 64% of workers feel that half or less of their meetings are truly productive.
This creates a "productivity paradox." If meetings are indeed the mechanism for coordination that leads to higher pay, yet the majority of workers perceive them as wasteful or inefficient, there is a clear disconnect between the perceived utility of the time spent and the actual economic output of the company. Deming’s research suggests that while workers may "dislike" the process, the organizational necessity of these interactions remains an undeniable feature of successful firms. The challenge for management is to improve the efficiency of these sessions without eroding the collaborative culture that drives wage growth.
Broader Implications for the Future of Work
The implications of this research extend to how businesses might restructure their workflows in the coming years. If meetings are the "broccoli of work," then companies must focus on making them more nutritious—or, at the very least, more purposeful.
- Strategic Selection: Firms may begin to audit their meeting structures to ensure that high-value employees are not being bogged down by low-value meetings, even if those meetings are technically "collaborative."
- The Value of Coordination: The study underscores that "soft skills" and coordination capabilities are increasingly being quantified as economic assets. As AI and automation continue to handle repetitive, solo tasks, the human-centric work of meetings—negotiating, aligning, and brainstorming—will likely command even higher market premiums.
- Professional Development: For employees looking to advance, the study suggests that seeking out roles that involve cross-departmental coordination may be a more effective path to salary growth than remaining in a siloed, albeit productive, position.
Professional and Organizational Reactions
While the study has garnered attention from economic circles, its reception among corporate leaders has been mixed. Executives often advocate for "less meeting culture" to combat burnout, yet they simultaneously rely on these forums to maintain control over complex operational streams. The NBER paper provides a factual foundation for why that balance is so difficult to strike.
It is widely inferred that for leaders like JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who has frequently spoken on the necessity of high-quality, focused interaction, the findings would resonate. Dimon has long emphasized that mastering the skills of coordination and leadership is paramount. The NBER study provides the data-driven backing to this sentiment, confirming that the "cost" of communication is indeed the price of operating a successful, complex organization.
As the labor market continues to evolve toward more flexible and remote arrangements, the nature of these "meetings" is also shifting. The study notes that even in virtual environments, the core requirement remains the same: the synchronization of human intellect to solve problems that cannot be tackled in isolation.
In summary, while the modern professional may view the packed calendar with dread, the data suggests that these meetings are not merely obstacles to work—they are, in many ways, the work itself. By serving as the connective tissue of modern enterprise, these interactions allow for the coordination of complex tasks, which in turn justifies the wage gains experienced by those who participate in them most frequently. The path to a higher salary, it seems, remains firmly rooted in the ability to show up, contribute, and coordinate with others.
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