Because email counts as “desk work” in these studies, we see time spent on desk work grow as time spent in scheduled meetings falls. Unlike scheduled meetings, however, conversations held through email unfold asynchronously—there’s usually a gap between when a message is sent and ultimately read—meaning that the compacted interactions that once defined synchronous meetings are now spread out into a shattered rhythm of quick checks of inboxes throughout the day. In Mark and González’s study, the average scheduled meeting took close to forty-two minutes. By contrast, the average time spent in an
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