Meetings Eat 12% of Work Hours—and High-Paying Firms Hold Even More

Why do we have so many meetings?

A first-of-its-kind NBER study of over 9,000 Norwegian workers links survey data to matched employer–employee records. Meetings consume 12% of work hours and 14% of firm wage bills, mostly for planning, problem solving, information sharing, and coordination. High-paying, high-revenue firms spend more on meetings despite a higher opportunity cost of time. Meeting intensity tracks wage growth, more on-the-job learning, and interaction with senior colleagues—pointing to knowledge transmission as the mechanism.