Why do we have so many meetings?

A large-scale study of over 9,000 Norwegian workers finds that meetings consume an average of 12% of work hours and 14% of firm wage bills, with planning, problem-solving, and information sharing being the primary activities. Despite being widely disliked, meetings are positively associated with worker wage growth and on-the-job learning, particularly through interactions with senior colleagues, suggesting that knowledge transmission within firms is a key mechanism justifying their prevalence.