It’s time to fix our endless meetings

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If you feel like you have more meetings than you did before the pandemic hit, you’re probably right.

A recent study of 3.1 million workers found the average workday is 48.5 minutes longer than it was pre-pandemic, and the number of meetings per person is up nearly 13%.

Ugh.

When everyone is working remotely, it’s easy to default to scheduling a meeting for brainstorming sessions or to address every question or problem.

But sitting in meetings all day can be counterproductive, impair work-life balance and hurt morale.

And some companies are fighting back.

At Highwire Public Relations, workers have been asked to eliminate 30% of meetings, as well as shorten the length of their meetings. Now 30-minute-meetings shouldn’t be longer than 25 minutes, and hour-long meetings should run around 45 minutes.

At San Francisco-based Amplitude, I spoke with an executive who holds “no-camera Wednesdays” with her team so people aren’t tied to their workspace for a meeting. Other companies are testing out days when internal meetings aren’t allowed at all.

Read more about how working from home has changed how employers approach meetings.

The harsh reality about the job market rebound

Many workers are back on the job after being laid off earlier in the pandemic. But their work schedules and pay don’t necessarily look the same.

Some workers who used to be full-time are now being offered part-time work for less pay and benefits.

Here’s the situation: the economy added 1.8 million jobs last month, but the number of people working part-time increased by 803,000 to 24 million, reports CNN’s Tami Luhby. That means a lot of the gains in employment were in part-time work.

When paychecks shrink, people are forced to make some tough decisions.

Luhby talked to one woman who returned to work at a reduced schedule and had her pay cut by $4 an hour. “I can go to work, but I’m not even making enough to pay the rent,” said the Gainesville, Florida, resident.

Read more here about how the job market rebound is taking shape.

WFH tax headache

If you decided to work from another state during the pandemic, listen up: You might owe taxes in two states next year.

Some states require you to pay taxes on income earned in that state even if your primary home is elsewhere.

That means if you live in Virginia, but decided to work remotely in upstate New York for the summer, you may have to pay income taxes to both states.

You might owe taxes after just one day of work in a different state, reports CNN’s Katie Lobosco. Others would tax after 30 days.

But that’s not always the case.

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have said they won’t tax workers who’ve relocated there temporarily due to the pandemic, reports Lobosco.

And some states already have reciprocal tax agreements with other bordering states.

Curious what your tax situation might be? Read the full story here.

Return to work anxiety

After months of working from home, some employees at L’Oreal’s New York office found out they will return to in-person work.

And the decision didn’t sit well with everyone.

CNN’s Chloe Melas talked to 18 employees at the beauty brand who worried about the health risks and questioned the benefits of being in the office.

“I want to do the work, but there is no logical reason in making us come into the office when we still will continue to have virtual meetings – especially when we’ve been working harder while remote to make sure that business continues as usual,” one employee said.

Read more on how these workers feel about returning.

Your nightly news buzz

Too much news and not enough time to digest it all?

My colleague Allison Morrow has you covered.

We recently launched a new CNN Business newsletter: Nightcap. It will serve up the biggest – or at least the most interesting – stories you couldn’t read because you had other stuff to take care of during the day.

To get Nightcap every weeknight, sign up here.

Coffee break

Feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day? Or that all the days are blending together?

Time feels increasingly fluid right now, writes CNN’s David G. Allan. And if you are looking for a way to regain some time management, check out the Pomodoro Technique.

Here’s a simplified breakdown of how it works: Use a timer for 25-minute intervals of concentrated work. Then you get a five-minute break. After a string of four short work intervals, you get a longer break.

Look out, to-do list!