The Attention Economy Is Crashing - 6 in 10 Australians say at least 50% of their colleagues multitask during virtual meetings

Australia's meetings are struggling to hold workers' attention, with six in ten respondents (61%) reporting that at least half of the people in a typical virtual meeting appear to be multitasking, according to the latest people2people Recruitment survey of more than 1,200 respondents.

The findings suggest distraction has become the norm rather than the exception. Three in four respondents (75%) say they stop paying full attention during virtual meetings either every time or often, while just 8% say they never lose focus.

Key findings:

• 75% stop paying full attention in every or most virtual meetings
• 61% say at least half of meeting attendees appear to be multitasking
• 40% browse online instead of listening
• 32% complete other work during meetings
• 39% lose focus because the meeting is not relevant to them
• 29% say meetings lose their attention because they run too long
• Just 8% say they never stop paying full attention

"The attention economy is crashing inside meetings, whether they are virtual or face to face. As soon as more than one person is involved, it becomes easy for attention to drift and for people to start multitasking," says Suhini Wijayasinghe, Head of HR Solutions at people2people Recruitment.

"We have seen this behaviour in physical meeting rooms for years, through people checking emails, looking at their phones, working on laptops or mentally switching to another task. Virtual meetings have made those distractions more visible, but they did not create the behaviour."

"This is not simply a question of employees having short attention spans. The results point to a broader meeting design problem. People are telling us that meetings are too often irrelevant, too long or one of too many competing demands on their time."

Multitasking has become part of meeting culture

During a typical virtual meeting, 43% of respondents say most attendees appear to be multitasking, while a further 18% believe about half are doing so. Only 17% report that no one appears distracted.

The behaviour is also visible in what employees do when their attention shifts. Four in ten respondents (40%) say they browse online instead of listening, while 32% use meeting time to complete other work. A further 6% check messages.

Only 22% say they do nothing else during virtual meetings.

"When employees are browsing online, answering messages or progressing other work, they are making an implicit judgement about the value of the meeting compared with everything else competing for their attention," says Wijayasinghe.

"That can happen just as easily around a boardroom table as it can on a video call. The challenge for employers is to make meetings focused, relevant and purposeful enough to hold people's attention."

"In some cases, multitasking may feel productive. But it can also lead to missed information, repeated conversations, slower decisions and employees leaving meetings without a clear understanding of what was agreed." 

Different generations multitask in different ways

The survey found that meeting distraction cuts across every generation, although the behaviour varies by age group.

Gen X and Baby Boomer respondents were the most likely to say they stop paying full attention in every virtual meeting, at 59%, compared with 46% of Millennials and 31% of Gen Z respondents. When those who lose focus "often" are included, the figures rise to 88% for Gen X and Baby Boomers, 76% for Millennials and 74% for Gen Z.

The generations also differ in what they do instead of listening. More than half of Gen Z respondents (54%) and 50% of Millennials say they browse online, while almost half of Gen X and Baby Boomer respondents (48%) are more likely to continue with other work.

"What stands out is that distraction is not a generational problem," says Wijayasinghe.

"Younger workers may be more likely to browse online, while older workers are more likely to keep progressing other tasks. The behaviour looks different, but the result is the same: the meeting does not have their full attention."

"This challenges the assumption that meeting distraction is mainly driven by younger employees or shorter attention spans. The data suggests the bigger issue is whether meetings are relevant, focused and worth people's time."

Relevance is the biggest attention killer

The most common reason respondents give for losing focus is that the meeting is not relevant to them, cited by 39%.

Meetings running too long are the next largest issue at 29%, followed by having too many meetings at 23%. Notifications are the primary distraction for 9%. 

"The strongest finding is that relevance matters more than notifications. Employers may be tempted to blame phones, email or hybrid work, but the data suggests the bigger issue is whether the right people are being invited and whether they genuinely need to be there," says Wijayasinghe. 

"A meeting should earn an employee's attention. That means having a defined purpose, inviting only the people who can contribute or make a decision, and making it clear why their participation matters." 

Time to rethink the default meeting

The findings come as organisations continue to balance virtual, hybrid and office-based work. While online meetings remain an essential way to connect distributed teams, people2people says employers should reconsider using meetings as the default response to every update, question or decision.

Practical changes could include shorter meeting times, clearer agendas, fewer attendees, defined decisions and actions, and greater use of written or asynchronous updates.

"Virtual meetings are not inherently ineffective, but unfocused meetings are expensive," says Wijayasinghe. "Every unnecessary attendee represents time that could have been spent on focused work, customers or other business priorities."

"The organisations that protect attention will have an advantage. Better meetings are not just about employee engagement; they support faster decisions, clearer accountability and stronger productivity."

www.people2people.com.au

About people2people

people2people is an Australasian recruitment company built on an established reputation for providing professional and personalised recruitment services since early 2005. At people2people Recruitment, its focus is on identifying potential today to build the careers and businesses of tomorrow.

Recruitment expertise includes accounting and finance, business support, executive, government, human resources, legal, marketing and digital, property, sales, supply chain management and technology. 

For further information or interview requests, please contact:

Lisa Solomons | 360 PR | E: lisa@360pr.com.au | P: 0416 175 518