Starting Your Day with Dread or Excitement? The Effects of Meeting Scheduling Cadences on Anticipated Daily Outcomes

Abstract

While researchers have explored many facets of workplace meetings, current research has yet to consider the concept of scheduling cadences (e.g., how meetings are dispersed throughout the day). Leveraging research on task interruptions and anticipatory reactions, we conducted two studies using experimental vignette methodology (EVM) where we presented hypothetical daily work schedules, varying by meeting load and dispersion, to a sample of full-time employees (Study 1: N = 109; Study 2: N = 222) and captured their anticipated feelings about the day. We also considered daily task-characteristics (e.g., expected task duration, task complexity) and an individual difference trait (work interruption resiliency; WIR) as moderating variables. Results from both studies provide evidence that daily meeting schedules influence employees’ anticipatory reactions to the day in terms of positive affect and productivity. Days with meetings high in quantity, duration, and dispersion result in decreased anticipations of positive affect and productivity. Moreover, characteristics of the daily work task/s influence these relationships. When daily task complexity is expected to be high, the negative effects of meeting duration and dispersion are heightened. Further, an individuals’ level of WIR moderates the relationships between daily meeting dispersion and anticipated end-of-day outcomes, with those low in resiliency more negatively affected by dispersed meetings compared to their counterparts. Findings from this research extend literature on meetings, workplace interruptions and anticipatory responses to offer insight into how to best schedule workplace meetings to increase employees’ anticipated outcomes and experiences.