Use of meeting rooms is rising according to Futuresource

Despite a forecast growth in the number of employees working from home and the rising usage of remote conferencing platforms that allow meetings to take place outside of dedicated spaces, over 20% of companies expect to add additional meeting rooms in the coming years, according to a new study from Futuresource Consulting…

Futuresource interviewed both corporate AV purchasers and meeting room users in France, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. about their spending on, and use of, meeting spaces. The report highlights that nearly 50% of employees note their average weekly use of meeting rooms has increased in the last two years, while the total addressable meeting room market (TAM) exceeds 5 million rooms in both the Western European and North American markets…

[Admin: As a thought-provoking counterpoint, the Harvard Business Review explored the risks of burnout and turnover from over-collaboration.]

Collaborative Overload

In the latest issue of The Harvard Business Review [Jan-Feb 2016], a team of researchers argue that a steady increase in collaborative work is undermining organizations’ performance. Across industries, they say, the most knowledgeable and helpful employees are barraged by requests from coworkers throughout the company until eventually they burn out and quit…

One of the most compelling data points is a graph featured in The Harvard Business Review article, based on data the authors collected from leaders across 20 organizations. According to their findings, the more colleagues who considered the person an effective source of information and the more colleagues who wanted greater access to that person, the less engaged that person was at work…