CONSTANCE RIVERA | Grievances | CONTACT
In a stunning display of irony, local office manager Karen Mitchell has spent over an hour leading a meeting on how to make meetings more efficient.
Held in the company’s already overbooked conference room, the meeting was mandatory for all staff. The agenda? A deep dive into how they could streamline future meetings—a process that, ironically, stretched into a lengthy discussion about “better time management strategies” and “minimising unnecessary conversations.”
“It’s crucial we address how much time we’re spending in these meetings,” Karen announced, oblivious to the irony as the clock ticked past the 45-minute mark.
She passed out colour-coded handouts, each explaining new protocols for keeping meetings short and focused, complete with a 10-minute monologue on “staying on topic.”
Meanwhile, staff members exchanged knowing glances, watching the minutes drag on as Karen introduced a proposal to create a “meetings task force”—a group that would, naturally, require weekly catch-ups to review their progress.
“It’s great that Karen’s trying to help,” one attendee remarked, scrolling through emails under the table. “But we could have just gotten this in an email. And I think she’s forgotten this is the third time we’ve had this same meeting.”
By the time Karen wrapped up, the meeting had lasted 63 minutes, officially surpassing the time allocated. “I think we made some real progress today,” she concluded, scheduling a follow-up meeting to review how well these new strategies were working—during another hour-long meeting.
