A growing share of U.S. professionals are blocking out their calendars to avoid meetings — and the trend has direct implications for hospital and health system leaders trying to keep already stretched teams engaged.
Leaders can address the issue by reevaluating meetings and identifying the root cause of disengagement, according to a July 29 Korn Ferry article.
Time blocking, or workers effectively going on “do not disturb,” is one visible sign of workforce disengagement. It can also show up in subtler ways, such as employees intentionally leaving out-of-office messages in place while back in the office. For health systems already managing turnover risk among administrative and corporate staff, that disengagement can be an early warning sign worth watching.
While it may not look the same at the bedside — especially for front-line clinical staff whose schedules are dictated by patient care, not calendar invites — healthcare executives have also recently reviewed their own meeting strategies, recognizing that the same fatigue can creep into leadership and administrative ranks.
Korn Ferry experts said leaders at some organizations have contributed to the exhaustion through rarer promotions and slashed management layers — pressures that some hospital and health system leaders are navigating right now. Avoidance can set in once burnout heightens.
“Many people feel they can’t run away, so they pull inward,” Karen Huang, PhD, business psychologist and senior director of search assessment at Korn Ferry, said in the article. “Their time is being carved up in many different ways.”
Leaders should also search for the root cause, and regardless, clear guidelines on outcomes and results are essential. Leaders should also allow employees to set their own priorities and schedule as much as possible, the article said.
What leaders can do
Leaders should find the root cause, not just the symptom, according to Korn Ferry. It is important to look past the calendar blocking itself and diagnose what is driving it. Regardless of the cause, clear guidelines on outcomes and results are essential, and leaders should let employees set their own priorities and schedules wherever possible.
“The idea is to let employees make decisions that lead them to feel that they have a say in their work lives,” Dr. Huang said.
Auditing meeting efficiency is also key. For leaders overseeing employees who are avoiding meetings, the fix often starts with the meetings themselves, Jenna Young, head of client creative in the culture, change and communications practice at Korn Ferry, said in the article.
“If more meetings had tight agendas, clear outcomes and participation for all involved, you’d have better attendance,” Ms. Young said.
This is not just an employee problem. Two-thirds of workplace leaders cited meetings as the No. 1 thing they spend too much time on, according to February survey results from executives on Fortune and Korn Ferry’s 28th annual list of the World’s Most Admired Companies, which included six health systems — underscoring that meeting fatigue runs all the way up the organizational chart, not just down from it.
Setting and protecting intentional priorities is another key focus. An October Becker’s LinkedIn poll found that clearer agendas and takeaways were the most popular solutions to improve team meetings, cited by 44% of the 554 poll respondents. Fewer redundant meetings came in second, at 42%.
Hospital and health system leaders have already put this into practice. Cliff Wilson, president and CEO of Albuquerque, N.M.-based Lovelace Health System, told Becker’s in February that intentional time management is key.
“One thing I’ve learned as a leader is that if you’re not intentional with your time, your calendar will run your day,” Mr. Wilson said. “In a virtual‑first environment, meetings can multiply quickly, so I focus my schedule on the goals that matter most and regularly evaluate what truly drives impact.”
He treats one-on-one time with direct reports as nonnegotiable, since those conversations build alignment and support, and he applies the same discipline to front-line visibility.
“I also protect time with front-line team members,” he said. “Being present in our facilities provides insights you can’t get from dashboards and helps build trust with the people caring for patients every day.”
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