Told to attend meeting --in addition to more

[shootingstar]

I'm in a job that I transferred to. This dept. has a lot of internal meetings.  We only have an agenda 25% of the time.  Often a lead person talks at length. She is a friendly person but it's very difficult to get her to shorten her talking on subject matters.  

On average, there are 2 internal meetings daily ranging from 1 hr. to 2 hrs. in total.  So that's 9-10 meetings/wk.

Yesterday it was 5 hrs. of 3 meetings --with 1 quarterly meeting attended by 30 people from across organization, blend of in-person and Skype.  It was a good meeting, stuffed with  a ton of info...which I was the minute taker. Now, I probably end up taking 2 hrs. just to get down some info. in addition to presentation links of speakers.

I'm in a temporary job but wonder if I will get things done on time or absorb all that I need to read, etc.

Never had a job before where it was many hrs. weekly and consistently, devoted to meetings. Other jobs had sit-down meetings, averaging only 1-2 times /wk.  I'm also getting tired of meeting with my own work colleagues.  I prefer client meetings.

But have no choice, given my status.  Suck it up and get paid.

[Longjohn ★]

I once had a dream job except for the meetings. Oh my were those meetings awful. I had board meetings, committee meetings, staff meetings. I had to travel for some of the meetings. Drove a company vehicle or was reimbursed for mileage on my vehicle. I had work I wanted to be doing but had to waste time on meetings. The board members were clueless and would change their mind from meeting to meeting. I really liked when I became a clock puncher, if they wanted me to go to any meetings I was paid at time and a half for them.

[Johnny Come Lately Name]

13 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

Yesterday it was 5 hrs. of 3 meetings

<opens wrists>

[donkpow]

I forget who it was that had everyone in his company stand during meetings. Whoever he was, he was rich.

[Further]

27 minutes ago, donkpow said:

I forget who it was that had everyone in his company stand during meetings. Whoever he was, he was rich.

My employer has jumped on the many short meetings band wagon, the way they keep them short is by requiring everyone to stand.

The way the meeting mongers get around this is by using the short, stand up meeting to arrange a longer, sit down meeting.

[maddmaxx ★]

I wonder where they teach "meeting" technology to managers.

1.  Managers delegate responsibility and therefor periodically have meetings to find out what the delegees have been doing.

2.  They in turn have subdivided some of their tasks and delegated responsibility to others so they have meetings to find out what those people are doing.  However just to be safe if a question is asked that they can't answer quickly they have their delegees also come to the meeting where they have to inform management.

3.  Because the 2nd level delegees are now busy attending meetings to both tell their supervisors what they are doing and meetings to backstop the supervisor on tough questions they are forced to deligate responsibility to another level farther down and then they have to schedule and attend meetings to find out what that level is doing..........................You can see where this is going right?

Eventually everyone in the company is attending meetings and they are all well informed on the work that they are not getting done.

You're going to need an MBA to understand this.

[Kzoo]

1 hour ago, donkpow said:

I forget who it was that had everyone in his company stand during meetings. Whoever he was, he was rich.

John D.