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Our work culture's obsession with meetings, which is dwindling, it seems, is due in large part to our desire to perform as part of 'productivity theater.' this

by ifloyd 4y ago

Our work culture's obsession with meetings, which is dwindling, it seems, is due in large part to our desire to perform as part of 'productivity theater.' this has mostly been driven up by wfh. but it's interesting to me that so many people focus on performativity vs. output

thisisbrians 4y ago
I think about this a lot. "Managers" are under pressure to make sure their teams are meeting goals/deadlines/whatever, so they are anxious, so they make efforts to observe and oversee "performance". Seeing people in meetings and diligently "working" makes them feel better about their teams' performance. But what really matters is outcome...which is very difficult to measure for a lot of software teams, and even harder for individuals. The irony is that the efforts to measure/ensure performance, in many cases, actually impede material progress towards the desired outcomes.
- ip26 4y ago
  On the other hand, thirty minutes a week seems like a small overhead to pay if you’re concerned a team might otherwise lose focus & direction entirely. Not, to be clear, that they are lazy, but instead that they could be diligently working… on the wrong thing. I can understand it both ways.
  - thisisbrians 4y ago
    It's certainly a spectrum. 1<>1s and vision alignment meetings are super important. Standups too, if that's your thing (I like them, but they must be run well). A lot of other stuff can start to get noisy in my opinion.
- lambdatronics 4y ago
  https://dilbert.com/strip/1995-02-17 https://dilbert.com/strip/1995-02-17
uxp100 4y ago
Is it dwindling? I think the number of hours of meetings I attended approximately quadrupled due to WFH. Limited conference rooms making > 1 hr meetings impossible was wonderful. Or are you saying it was dwindling, but it surged up due to wfh? Then I guess I agree, though I’m not sure if it’s due to productivity theater, or physical constraints being removed

by ifloyd 4y ago

thisisbrians 4y ago

I think about this a lot. "Managers" are under pressure to make sure their teams are meeting goals/deadlines/whatever, so they are anxious, so they make efforts to observe and oversee "performance". Seeing people in meetings and diligently "working" makes them feel better about their teams' performance. But what really matters is outcome...which is very difficult to measure for a lot of software teams, and even harder for individuals. The irony is that the efforts to measure/ensure performance, in many cases, actually impede material progress towards the desired outcomes.

ip26 4y ago
On the other hand, thirty minutes a week seems like a small overhead to pay if you’re concerned a team might otherwise lose focus & direction entirely. Not, to be clear, that they are lazy, but instead that they could be diligently working… on the wrong thing. I can understand it both ways.
- thisisbrians 4y ago
  It's certainly a spectrum. 1<>1s and vision alignment meetings are super important. Standups too, if that's your thing (I like them, but they must be run well). A lot of other stuff can start to get noisy in my opinion.
lambdatronics 4y ago
https://dilbert.com/strip/1995-02-17 https://dilbert.com/strip/1995-02-17

uxp100 4y ago

Is it dwindling? I think the number of hours of meetings I attended approximately quadrupled due to WFH. Limited conference rooms making > 1 hr meetings impossible was wonderful. Or are you saying it was dwindling, but it surged up due to wfh? Then I guess I agree, though I’m not sure if it’s due to productivity theater, or physical constraints being removed