The argument against laptops in meetings

Don't allow a laptop to derail your meetings – this is the message from Martin Boroson and Carmel Moore, directors of The One Moment Company, which specialises in time management techniques.

In an article published last month in Fast Company, Boroson and Moore proposed banning laptops at meetings to ensure that they are productive, especially in the case of remote workers or those who have to make special arrangements to attend in-person meetings.

According to the article, when employees come together for a dedicated day, the absence of distractions is important. Although laptops may be considered a necessary tool for meetings, such as taking notes or sharing documents, using them results in multitasking, even if it is work-related. This means that employees' attention is not entirely focused on the meeting. Additionally, the article highlights how laptops can be a pretext for doing other things and how they can cause distractions.

“It is where we access (and are available to) the whole world outside the meeting,” Boroson and Moore say in the article. ”And it is where we indulge some of our counter-productive addictions: checking the score of the big game, watching the dog cam. This means that even though you may have gone to great lengths to gather everyone physically in the same room, they may be mentally somewhere else.”

Boroson and Moore explain that speaking at a meeting where attendees are distracted by their laptops can be a discouraging experience. According to them, your perspective may not be acknowledged as no one may be looking at you, which can lead to a reduction in your confidence. Furthermore, the lack of eye contact results in a lack of real-time feedback and the body language of distracted co-workers can suggest disinterest, causing you to doubt the value of your ideas and feel unheard.

According to Boroson and Moore, it is recommended to evaluate the need for laptops in each in-person meeting. They suggest stating the laptop policy clearly in the invitation and at the beginning of the meeting, trying device-free meetings, especially for sensitive or creative topics, providing alternative ways of taking notes, and being clear about the intention and level of attention required for each meeting to succeed.

If necessary, designate just one person as the “laptop person” or ‘information gatherer’ and give everyone dedicated laptop breaks, short periods in the meeting when they are allowed to use devices.