mødefatigue

Mødefatigue, or meeting fatigue, describes the fatigue, cognitive overload, and reduced motivation that people experience from participating in a high volume of meetings. The phenomenon is commonly discussed in workplaces, particularly with the rise of virtual meetings, where long sessions and constant screen time can increase strain and reduce attentiveness.

Causes include excessive meeting frequency, long durations, unclear objectives, missing or weak agendas, and topics that fail to engage all participants. In remote work, additional factors such as limited nonverbal cues, continuous gaze, and the need to multitask during video calls contribute to mental load and concentration fatigue.

Symptoms and effects include trouble focusing, lower engagement, less effective decision making, slower work pace, and higher stress or burnout risk. Meeting fatigue can undermine productivity if meetings do not yield clear outcomes or actionable next steps.

Mitigation strategies include reducing meeting quantity, enforcing explicit objectives and time limits, preparing and sharing pre-reads, keeping meetings small and purpose-driven, assigning a facilitator and note-taker, and promoting asynchronous updates for status reports. Other measures include scheduling meeting-free blocks, limiting attendees, and recording meetings with a concise summary of decisions and actions.

The concept is widely discussed in the context of modern work, with variation across industries and organizations. Addressing mødefatigue is part of broader efforts to improve meeting hygiene and employee well-being in increasingly digital and distributed environments.

See also related concepts include Zoom fatigue, digital fatigue, and meeting hygiene.