meetdensity

Meetdensity is a metric used to quantify the density of meetings within a given time window in an organization. It aims to describe how meeting-heavy a period is by combining information about the number of meetings, their total duration, and the exposure of participants to meetings.

A simple formulation defines meetdensity M as the sum of all meeting durations in the window divided by the window length in hours. Variants exist that adjust for overlapping meetings or multiple attendees by counting unique participant-hours rather than raw duration, or by applying time-zone-aware controls.

Interpretation depends on context: higher values suggest more time spent in meetings relative to available work time, while lower values imply more uninterrupted time for focused work. Organizations use meetdensity to compare teams, projects, or time periods and to identify potential calendar fatigue or scheduling bottlenecks.

Calculations require calendar data and careful handling of overlaps, time zones, and privacy considerations. Some implementations compute per-employee density, while others aggregate across all participants, with attention to deduplication of shared meetings and normalization for team size.

Limitations include neglect of meeting quality, outcomes, or preparation time, as well as sensitivity to scheduling practices and job roles. The metric should be used alongside qualitative assessments and other workload measures to avoid misinterpretation or overemphasis on quantity over effectiveness.

Related concepts include meeting load, calendar optimization, and meeting fatigue. While meetdensity provides a quantitative snapshot of meeting intensity, it is most informative when combined with broader organizational context and performance indicators.