Management Research Review
Our love/ hat e relat ionship wit h meet ings: Relat ing good and bad meet ing
behaviors t o meet ing out comes, engagement , and exhaust ion
Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock Joseph A. Allen Dain Belyeu
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Our love/hate relationship
with meetings
Relating good and bad meeting behaviors to
meeting outcomes, engagement,
and exhaustion
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Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock
Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology,
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Love/hate
relationship
with meetings
1293
Received 31 August 2015
Revised 26 October 2015
9 February 2016
Accepted 9 February 2016
Joseph A. Allen
Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska at Omaha,
Nebraska, USA, and
Dain Belyeu
CASK LLC, San Diego, California, USA
Abstract
Purpose – Employees at all organizational levels spend large portions of their work lives in meetings,
many of which are not effective. Previous process-analytical research has identified counterproductive
communication patterns to help explain why many meetings go wrong. This study aims to illustrate the
ways in which counterproductive – and productive – meeting behaviors are related to individual work
engagement and emotional exhaustion.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors built a new research-based survey tool for
measuring counterproductive meeting behaviors. An online sample of working adults (N ⫽ 440) was
recruited to test the factor structure of this new survey and to examine the relationships between both
good and bad meeting behaviors and employee attitudes beyond the meeting context.
Findings – Using structural equation modeling, this study found that counterproductive meeting
behaviors were linked to decreased employee engagement and increased emotional exhaustion,
whereas good meeting behaviors were linked to increased engagement and decreased emotional
exhaustion. These relationships were mediated via individual meeting satisfaction and perceived
meeting effectiveness.
Research limitations/implications – The study findings provide a nuanced view of meeting
outcomes by showing that the behaviors that people observe in their meetings connect not only to
meeting satisfaction and effectiveness but also to important workplace attitudes (i.e. employee
engagement and emotional exhaustion). In other words, managers and meeting leaders need to be
mindful of behavior in meetings, seek ways to mitigate poor behavior and seek opportunities to reward
and encourage citizenship behavior.
Originality/value – This study shows how good and bad meeting behaviors relate to employee
perceptions of meeting effectiveness and individual job attitudes. The authors develop a science-based,
This research was partially supported by a Faculty Research International Grant from the
University of Nebraska-Omaha and by CASK LLC. There is no conflict of interest.
Management Research Review
Vol. 39 No. 10, 2016
pp. 1293-1312
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2040-8269
DOI 10.1108/MRR-08-2015-0195
MRR
39,10
practitioner-friendly new survey tool for observing counterproductive meeting behavior and offer a
juxtaposition of good and bad meeting behaviors in a single model.
Keywords Employee engagement, Meetings, Emotional exhaustion,
Counterproductive meeting behaviors, Survey development
Paper type Research paper
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Meetings are held for a number of different purposes and take up increasing amounts of
work time (Allen et al., 2014). Unfortunately, almost half of today’s numerous and
time-consuming workplace meetings are evaluated as ineffective by the participating
employees (Schell, 2010). Tedious, ineffective meetings may not only waste temporal
and financial resources in organizations but also leave a lasting imprint on individual
attendees long after a meeting has ended. Meetings can play an important role for
employees’ job satisfaction and well-being at work (Luong and Rogelberg, 2005;
Rogelberg et al., 2006, 2010). In this paper, we draw from sensemaking theory (Weick
et al., 2005) to argue that what happens in a meeting is not just good or bad in itself, but
can also set the tone for employees’ workdays and shape their workplace experiences
more generally.
The mismatch between the increasing amount of time employees spend in meetings,
on the one hand, and the frequent experiences of bad meetings, on the other hand, calls
for research aiming to understand how specific behaviors within meetings relate not
only to meeting satisfaction and effectiveness but also to employee attitudes and
well-being beyond the meeting context. Previous research has identified specific
functional behavior patterns (e.g. problem-solving behaviors) as well as dysfunctional
meeting behaviors (e.g. criticizing others or complaining) and linked them to meeting
satisfaction and more distal performance outcomes (Kauffeld and LehmannWillenbrock, 2012; Lehmann-Willenbrock et al., 2013). However, it remains to be seen
how the link between functional/productive versus dysfunctional/counterproductive
meeting behaviors and meeting satisfaction and effectiveness may further connect to
employee attitudes and well-being beyond the meeting context.
The purpose of this study is to investigate how the behaviors of meeting attendees –
both good and bad – relate to meeting outcomes and employee attitudes beyond the
meeting context. Building upon the sensemaking theory, we propose that good and bad
meeting behaviors can leave a lasting imprint on employees. In doing so, we connect the
dots between previous team interaction process research and survey-based findings on
meeting effectiveness to shed light on the relationships between positive versus
counterproductive meeting behaviors and immediate meeting outcomes (i.e. perceived
meeting satisfaction and meeting effectiveness) as well as employee attitudes beyond
the meeting (i.e. individual work engagement and emotional exhaustion). To test these
arguments, we develop a new survey measure for assessing counterproductive meeting
behaviors, grounded in previous process-analytical findings from team science.
Moreover, we examine the relationships between meeting citizenship and
counterproductive meeting behavior, on the one hand, and meeting outcomes as well as
employee attitudes, on the other hand, in a sample of 440 working adults who regularly
attend workplace meetings. We discuss implications for meeting science and
managerial implications for detecting counterproductive meeting behaviors, promoting
positive meeting behaviors and managing meeting effectiveness.
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Meetings as sites for sensemaking in the workplace
Sensemaking is the process of achieving an understanding, or making sense, of an
experienced event. In the workplace, sensemaking occurs through communication
(Weick et al., 2005). Although sensemaking occurs in many different conversational
contexts in the workplace, meetings have been discussed as the most common
workplace activity that is aimed at sensemaking, either explicitly or implicitly (Scott
et al., 2015). Many meetings are scheduled in the first place because there is a need to
manage ambiguity and make sense of recent events (Eisenberg, 2007; Jarzabkowski and
Seidle, 2008). Because meetings are often called in an effort to share information, reduce
ambiguity and promote collaboration, sensemaking has been discussed as a critical
component of workplace meetings (for extensive arguments regarding meetings as
sensemaking sites, see Scott et al., 2015). Indeed, behavioral observations during
workplace meetings suggest that sensemaking activities such as discussing problems,
developing solutions and identifying necessary action steps are typical behaviors that
employees show during their meetings (Kauffeld and Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2012;
Lehmann-Willenbrock et al., in press).
Sensemaking and related activities during meetings can help reduce ambiguity, but
may also affect meeting attendees’ attitudes beyond the meeting itself. For example, the
experience of a well-structured and effective meeting, characterized by functional
problem-solving behaviors and action orientation, will be substantially different from
the experience of attending a poorly structured meeting, characterized by inefficient
sensemaking, derailing group processes or the emergence of a negative group mood
(Kauffeld and Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2012; Lehmann-Willenbrock et al., 2011;
Lehmann-Willenbrock and Kauffeld, 2010). As such, the way in which meetings can
influence employees’ work lives does not stop at the moments immediately after a
meeting, when participants can be either satisfied or dissatisfied with their meeting.
Indeed, what happens in meetings can have a profound impact on individual workplace
attitudes far beyond the actual meeting context (Rogelberg et al., 2010; Allen and
Rogelberg, 2013). Previous research shows that meeting outcomes (i.e. meeting
attendees’ satisfaction as well as their perceptions of meeting effectiveness) relate to
employee attitudes about their jobs and their emotional well-being more generally
(Rogelberg et al., 2010). To deepen our understanding of how good and bad meeting
behaviors shape individual employees’ workplace experiences, this study examines
their relationships with meeting outcomes as well as two more proximate outcomes that
go beyond the immediate meeting context, namely, individual workplace engagement,
on the one hand, and emotional exhaustion as an indicator of individual well-being, on
the other hand. To examine within-meeting experiences, we first draw a distinction
between functional and dysfunctional or helpful versus harmful behaviors that happen
during workplace meetings.
Helpful and harmful meeting behaviors
Previous team process research shows that functional meeting behaviors such as
generating ideas or planning specific action steps to ensure that the ideas from the
meeting will make it into everyday practice can promote meeting effectiveness (Kauffeld
and Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2012; Nixon and Littlepage, 1992). Moreover, scholars have
pointed to courtesy behaviors as a possible way to reap the intended benefits of
meetings in organizations. In particular, Baran and colleagues developed a measure of
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meeting citizenship behaviors, using a survey study of working adults from different
organizations (Baran et al., 2012). They describe meeting citizenship in terms of
extra-role behaviors aimed at supporting meeting processes. Such extra-role behaviors
include volunteering information to aid problem-solving, communicating ideas or
coming prepared to the meeting.
When focusing on citizenship behaviors within the meeting (rather than before, as in
preparing a meeting), citizenship behaviors correspond to functional meeting behaviors
identified in previous research on team interaction processes during meetings, such as
stating problems, contributing solutions or engaging in procedural behaviors to
structure the meeting. Previous process-analytical findings show that such functional
behaviors can significantly contribute to employees’ satisfaction with their meetings
and perceived meeting effectiveness (Kauffeld and Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2012;
Lehmann-Willenbrock et al., 2013). Moreover, in a study of public advisory meetings,
McComas et al. (2007) highlight the importance of fair procedures for meeting
satisfaction and suggest that researchers pay closer attention to those behavioral
processes that convey relational fairness perceptions. We would expect that meeting
citizenship behaviors can play an important role toward this end, which again would
suggest benefits of meeting citizenship behavior for attendees’ meeting satisfaction.
However, previous work also shows that many organizational meetings suffer from
disproportionately frequent dysfunctional behaviors (Kauffeld and LehmannWillenbrock, 2012; Lehmann-Willenbrock and Kauffeld, 2010). These include
complaining, backbiting or getting “off track” and losing the train of thought. For
example, a study with 92 teams from different industries showed that the average team
meeting contained 32 complaining statements and only two action planning statements
per one-hour period (Kauffeld and Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2012). Counterproductive
meeting behaviors, such as criticizing others or complaining, are problematic especially
because they often occur in cycles or recurring patterns. For example, if a meeting
participant starts complaining, this will likely receive support, which will in turn
generate more complaining (Kauffeld and Meyers, 2009; Lehmann-Willenbrock et al.,
2011). In other words, counterproductive meeting behaviors have the potential to get a
meeting “stuck” in negative loops, which derails meeting processes (LehmannWillenbrock and Kauffeld, 2010).
Taken together, previous findings from both survey and process-analytical research
suggest that meeting citizenship behaviors, on the one hand, will positively impact
meeting satisfaction and effectiveness because these behaviors move the meeting
forward and help achieve meeting purposes (Baran et al., 2012; Kauffeld and
Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2012). Counterproductive meeting behaviors, on the other hand,
should be negatively linked to meeting satisfaction and effectiveness, because these
behaviors tend to derail the meeting and create hurdles for achieving meeting
effectiveness (Kauffeld and Meyers, 2009; Lehmann-Willenbrock and Kauffeld, 2010).
Hence, we hypothesize:
H1. Meeting citizenship behaviors are positively linked to attendees’ meeting
satisfaction (a) and meeting effectiveness (b).
H2. Counterproductive meeting behaviors are negatively linked to attendees’
meeting satisfaction (a) and perceived meeting effectiveness (b).
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How good and bad meeting behaviors relate to employee engagement
Drawing from the notion of meetings as sites for organizational sensemaking (Scott
et al., 2015), we expect that meeting citizenship behaviors versus counterproductive
meeting behaviors can shape employees’ workplace experiences more broadly. In
particular, we focus on the relationship between these two types of meeting behaviors
and employees’ work engagement. Work engagement can be defined as “a positive,
fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and
absorption” (Schaufeli et al., 2002, p. 74). Engaged employees identify with their work,
involve themselves and contribute ideas, enjoy a feeling of self-efficacy and work
energetically without suffering from burnout (Leiter and Bakker, 2010). In the context of
workplace meetings, engagement can be boosted when a meeting is conducted well by
the meeting leader (Allen and Rogelberg, 2013). Although less is known about how
behaviors within the meeting may promote engagement, we would expect meeting
citizenship behavior to play a role here. Meeting citizenship behaviors can facilitate
information access, structure situations or problems, create a common understanding of
problems, clarify goals and help generate feasible solutions that can improve work
processes and thereby also individual employees’ everyday work lives (Baran et al.,
2012; Kauffeld and Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2012). When a meeting is characterized by
such behaviors, meeting attendees will likely not only leave the meeting satisfied and
gain an impression of overall meeting effectiveness but will also feel energized and
dedicated to implement goals set in the meeting. In other words, such meetings may
boost their work engagement.
On the other hand, bad or counterproductive meeting behaviors should have adverse
effects on individual engagement. Previous research has found negative links between
counterproductive verbal behaviors such as running off topic, criticizing others or
complaining and meeting satisfaction and effectiveness (Kauffeld and LehmannWillenbrock, 2012). Patterns of such counterproductive behaviors (i.e. complaining
cycles) have also been linked to a bad overall mood in meetings (Lehmann-Willenbrock
et al., 2011). These findings suggest that when a meeting takes a downturn and becomes
driven by counterproductive behaviors, this will likely create a negative affective
experience, or a hindering job demand, for the individual employees who attend them. In
other words, counterproductive meeting behaviors may diminish individual work
engagement. Taken together, we hypothesize:
H3. Meeting citizenship behaviors are positively linked to employee engagement
(a), whereas counterproductive meeting behaviors are negatively linked to
employee engagement (b).
How good and bad meeting behaviors relate to emotional exhaustion
Distinct relationships between good and bad meeting behaviors and positive outcomes
such as engagement also suggest that the two types of meeting behaviors should show
different relationships with negative outcomes, in particular with emotional exhaustion
in the workplace. The concept of emotional exhaustion concerns “feelings of being
emotionally overextended and exhausted by one’s work” (Wright and Cropanzano,
1998, p. 186). In the organizational context, emotional exhaustion has been defined as a
state of depleted emotional and motivational resources (Hobfoll and Freedy, 1993).
Emotional exhaustion has been shown to impair employees’ work attitudes and job
performance, as well as their mental and physical health (Maslach, 2001).
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Previous research has identified high workload, conflict and requirements to express
positive emotions despite potential negative feelings as factors that can promote
employee emotional exhaustion, among others (Grandey, 2003). A recent review
summarizes unfavorable psychosocial working conditions – high workload, high
quantitative, mental or emotional demands and low social support – as consistent
predictors of emotional exhaustion across studies (Seidler et al., 2014). To date, however,
no study has examined how meetings may contribute to or potentially diminish
emotional exhaustion, despite the fact that meetings are a steady component of many
employees’ work lives, constitute a salient context for interpersonal interaction and for
shaping workplace attitudes and are often emotional venues (Lehmann-Willenbrock
and Allen, 2014; Rogelberg et al., 2010).
Counterproductive meeting behaviors versus meeting citizenship behaviors should
have distinctly different linkages with employees’ emotional exhaustion. We argue that
meetings can play a role for emotional exhaustion for three reasons. First, large and
increasing amounts of valuable work time are spent in meetings and employees often
complain about having to attend meetings that lack action results (Kayes et al., 2005;
Lehmann-Willenbrock et al., 2016a). Rogelberg et al. (2006) even discuss the existence of
a social norm for complaining about meetings. Again, we would argue that it depends on
what happened in a specific meeting: Negative feelings, and potential emotional
exhaustion, as a result of a meeting will be more likely when a meeting was
characterized by counterproductive rather than meeting citizenship behaviors. Second,
previous research suggests that meetings are affect-laden events and trigger emotional
responses by employees (Allen and Rogelberg, 2013; Lei and Lehmann-Willenbrock,
2015; Rogelberg et al., 2010). Positive meeting behaviors shape positive affective
experiences in meetings, whereas counterproductive behaviors shape negative collective
affect in meetings (Lehmann-Willenbrock et al., 2011). Third, counterproductive meeting
behaviors, such as complaining and criticizing, may be linked to increased emotional
exhaustion in light of previous findings that tensions and verbal maltreatment can promote
emotional exhaustion (Grandey et al., 2007). Meeting citizenship behaviors, on the other
hand, can function as a positive resource (Baran et al., 2012) and thus should be negatively
linked to experiences of emotional exhaustion. Taken together, we hypothesize:
H4. Meeting citizenship behaviors are linked to lower levels of emotional exhaustion
(a), whereas counterproductive meeting behaviors are linked to higher levels of
emotional exhaustion (b).
Mediating relationships
From our previous line of reasoning, it logically follows to propose a mediated model for
explaining the relationships between good and bad meeting behaviors, immediate or
proximal meeting outcomes (meeting satisfaction and perceived meeting effectiveness)
and more distal meeting outcomes (individual engagement and emotional exhaustion).
Specifically, focusing on employee engagement as an individual outcome first, we
expect that good meeting behaviors will leave meeting attendees feeling that their
meeting time was well spent, which creates psychological conditions that are conducive
to work engagement (Kahn, 1990; Allen and Rogelberg, 2013). In other words, the
positive link between meeting citizenship behaviors and individual engagement will be
mediated by the positive relationship between good meeting behaviors and meeting
satisfaction and effectiveness.
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On the contrary, counterproductive meeting behaviors can leave meeting attendants
feeling unsatisfied or even drained, and as such may create psychological conditions
that are detrimental for individual work engagement. In other words, we propose that
the negative link between counterproductive meeting behaviors and work engagement
will be mediated via their negative relationship with meeting satisfaction and meeting
effectiveness. Taken together, we hypothesize:
Love/hate
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with meetings
H5. The positive relationship between meeting citizenship behaviors and employee
engagement is (positively) mediated by (a) meeting satisfaction and (b) meeting
effectiveness.
1299
H6. The negative relationship between counterproductive meeting behaviors and
employee engagement is (negatively) mediated by (a) meeting satisfaction and
(b) meeting effectiveness.
Similarly, our previous argumentation when considered in summary suggests that
the proposed negative link between meeting citizenship behaviors and individual
participants’ emotional exhaustion, as well as the proposed positive link between
counterproductive meeting behaviors and individual emotional exhaustion, will be
mediated via the differential relationships between these different types of meeting
behaviors and meeting satisfaction and effectiveness. From our above line of
reasoning it follows that meeting citizenship behaviors can leave participants
feeling satisfied and positive about meeting effectiveness, both of which can be
regarded as conditions that can alleviate experiences of emotional exhaustion. And
finally, we propose that counterproductive meeting behaviors can increase
individual experiences of emotional exhaustion at work via their negative
relationship with meeting satisfaction and effectiveness. In other words,
counterproductive meeting behaviors may be linked to higher emotional exhaustion
because they reflect psychosocial working conditions, in terms of low meeting
satisfaction and low meeting effectiveness, which are potentially emotionally
exhausting (Seidler et al., 2014). Our two final hypotheses thus state:
H7. The negative link between meeting citizenship behaviors and emotional
exhaustion is mediated (positively) by meeting satisfaction (a) and meeting
effectiveness (b).
H8. The positive link between counterproductive meeting behaviors and emotional
exhaustion is mediated (negatively) by meeting satisfaction (a) and meeting
effectiveness (b).
Method
Sample and procedure
The sample included working adults who regularly attend work meetings as a part of
their job. Participants completed the survey online and were recruited using Amazon’s
Mechanical Turk (MTurk). MTurk is maintained by Amazon.com and panelists are
recruited from the vast membership of Amazon.com users who have an interest in
receiving monetary compensation for work opportunities through the MTurk system.
Previous studies used MTurk for collecting data and found it to be a good resource for
clean and useful data (Buhrmester et al., 2011; Shapiro et al., 2013). For our study, a small
financial incentive was provided for participating in the online survey (i.e. $0.50). The
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final usable sample included 440 adults, 49.7 per cent were female; the mean age of the
participants was 37.2; and the majority of the sample indicated they work in a group or
team (82.4 per cent).
Measures
Counterproductive meeting behaviors were assessed using a ten-item measure which we
developed for the present study. Items were developed based on previous processanalytical findings obtained with the act4teams coding scheme for meeting interaction.
The act4teams coding scheme is conceptually grounded in previous group interaction
coding instruments and was developed and validated using a sample of 95 real
organizational meetings from a range of organizations (Kauffeld and LehmannWillenbrock, 2012; Meinecke and Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2015). Based on this coding
scheme, we distinguished between negative procedural behaviors (running off topic or
losing the train of thought), negative socioemotional behaviors (e.g. criticizing others)
and counteractive behaviors (e.g. complaining). We rephrased the wording such that
observation codes from the act4teams scheme were stated as behavior observations that
can be completed by regular meeting attendees. For example, the original act4teams
observation code “self-promotion” was described in the item “Meeting attendees point
out their work experience to show that they are superior” (Figure A1).
After generating the list of items, an expert panel of researchers reviewed and
commented on the items (Baran et al., 2012). The final set of ten items were modified and
selected for inclusion on the survey. Items were rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging
from 1 being “strongly disagree” to 5 being “strongly agree”. Instructions asked the
participants to indicate their agreement with the following statements concerning their
workplace meetings in general. Before testing hypotheses with this measure, we
performed an exploratory factor analysis to investigate the factor structure. Using direct
oblimin rotation, we obtained a one-factor solution (eigenvalue ⫽ 5.56). Figure A1 shows
all items and their factor loadings as well as the scree plot, which also indicated a
one-factor solution.
Meeting citizenship behaviors were assessed using an eight-item scale (Baran et al.,
2012). Participants were asked to indicate their agreement with the statements
concerning their workplace meetings. Sample items include “I try to make our meeting
more productive” and “I come prepared to meetings”. Items were rated on a six-point
Likert scale from 1 being “completely disagree” to 6 being “completely agree”.
Meeting satisfaction was measured using a six-item scale (Rogelberg et al., 2010).
Participants were asked to think about their work meetings and indicate how the words
presented described their meetings. Sample items include “satisfying” and “enjoyable”.
Items were rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from “completely disagree” to
“completely agree”.
Meeting effectiveness was assessed using a six-item scale (Rogelberg et al., 2006).
Participants were asked to think of their last work meeting and rate the effectiveness of
the meeting relative to the statements provided. Sample items included “achieving your
own work goals” or “providing you with an opportunity to acquire useful information”.
Items were rated on a five-point scale ranging from 1 (“extremely ineffective”) to 5
(“extremely effective”).
Employee engagement was assessed using an abbreviated nine-item version of the
Utrecht Work Engagement Scale designed to assess overall employee engagement
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(Schaufeli and Bakker, 2003). This nine-item measure assessed the three facets of
employee engagement: vigor, dedication and absorption. The instructions read “Think
about the work that you do. Please indicate how frequently the following are true of you
at work”. Sample items include “At my work, I feel bursting with energy”, “I find the
work that I do full of meaning and purpose” and “Time flies when I am working”.
Ratings were made on a five-point scale, ranging from 1 being “never” to 5 being
“always”.
Emotional exhaustion was measured using the eight-item emotional exhaustion
subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach and Jackson, 1981) Participants
were asked, “How often do you:”, followed by a series of statements. Sample items
include “I feel emotionally drained from work” and “I feel burned out from my work”.
Items were rated on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from 1 being “never” to 7 being
“every day”.
Demographic variables were assessed as potential control variables as well as
information concerning sample characteristics. These included measures of age, gender,
education, tenure with their current employment organization and job level. Only job
level showed a significant correlation with any of the main study variables. As such, we
tested the models with and without job level as a control variable. However, because the
pattern of results was the same and we did not have an a priori theory for including job
level as a control variable, we report the models without controlling for job level, and this
process is consistent with current thinking and treatment of control variables using
complex models (Becker, 2005).
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Results
Discriminant validity
Before testing the hypothesized model, we performed a confirmatory factor analysis
(CFA) to verify the distinctiveness of the six focal measures (Table I). We compared the
model fit for each of the five nested models, ranging from a single-factor model to a
six-factor model (Lance and Vandenberg, 2002). Specifically, the one-factor model
combined all focal measures into a single factor. Each subsequent model separated each
measure out (i.e. counterproductive meeting behaviors, meeting citizenship behaviors,
meeting satisfaction, meeting effectiveness, employee engagement and emotional
exhaustion). When inspecting the fit indices as shown in Table I, the six-factor model
Model
CFI
TLI
2
df
Difference
RMSEA
One-factor
Two-factor
Three-factor
Four-factor
Five-factor
Six-factor
0.83
0.87
0.90
0.91
0.94
0.97
0.82
0.86
0.89
0.90
0.93
0.97
19,194.82*
13,861.16*
11,154.61*
9,198.81*
6,383.27*
2,488.52*
945
944
942
939
935
930
5,333.66*
2,706.55*
1,955.80*
2,815.54*
3,894.75*
0.21
0.18
0.16
0.14
0.11
0.06
Notes: N ⫽ 440; The one-factor model includes all focal measures combined. Each subsequent model
separates each measure out, step-by-step, until the six-factor model which separates each measure into
distinct factors; CFI ⫽ comparative fit index; TLI ⫽ Tucker–Lewis index; Difference ⫽ difference in
chi-square from the next model; RMSEA ⫽ root-mean-square error of approximation; * p ⬍ 0.05
Table I.
Confirmatory factor
analyses for all focal
measures
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showed the best overall fit. Although each more differentiated model showed a
significantly better chi-square statistic (James et al., 1982), the six-factor model showed
a better root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), comparative fit index (CFI)
and Tucker–Lewis index (TLI). Additionally, all values were above their recommended
cutoff of 0.90. Notably, all items in the six-factor model loaded reliably on their predicted
factors, with the lowest loading of 0.42.
Additionally, average variance extracted for each measure was consistently greater
than 0.60 and alpha reliability estimates were greater than 0.80 for all measures. Both
suggest adequate convergent validity and reliability to proceed with the hypothesis test.
The means, standard deviations, intercorrelations and internal consistency reliability
estimates are shown in Table II. All correlations were consistent with the proposed
hypotheses and significant in the proposed directions (p ⬍ 0.05).
Tests of the proposed model
To fully test the proposed hypotheses, we tested the proposed model (Figure 1) with
structural equation modeling (SEM) using LISREL 8.80. In addition to the full-mediation
model, we tested two alternative models as comparison points for assessing the efficacy
of the proposed model: a direct effects model and a partial-mediation model (Table III).
The full-mediation model provided a good fit to the data, 2(936) ⫽ 2,749.04, p ⬍ 0.05;
RMSEA ⫽ 0.06, TLI ⫽ 0.97, CFI ⫽ 0.97. However, the partial-mediation model showed
a significantly better fit based on the chi-square difference test (2(4) difference ⫽ 49.56,
p ⬍ 0.05). This finding suggests remaining direct effects of both counterproductive
meeting behaviors and meeting citizenship behaviors on both emotional exhaustion and
employee engagement, in addition to the mediation effects (Table III).
The path coefficients for the relationships between meeting citizenship behaviors
and meeting satisfaction ( ⫽ 0.35, p ⬍ 0.05) and effectiveness ( ⫽ 0.32, p ⬍ 0.05) were
significant and with the expected sign, which supports H1a and H1b. Moreover,
consistent with H2a and H2b, the path coefficients for the relationships between
counterproductive meeting behaviors and meeting satisfaction ( ⫽ ⫺0.42, p ⬍ 0.05)
and effectiveness ( ⫽ ⫺0.37, p ⬍ 0.05) were significant and with the expected sign.
The path coefficients for the direct relationships between meeting citizenship
behaviors and engagement ( ⫽ 0.19, p ⬍ 0.05) as well as counterproductive meeting
behaviors and engagement ( ⫽ ⫺0.10, p ⬍ 0.05) were significant and with the expected
sign, which supports H3a and H3b. Moreover, the path coefficients for the direct
relationships between meeting citizenship behaviors and emotional exhaustion ( ⫽
⫺0.16, p ⬍ 0.05) as well as counterproductive meeting behaviors and emotional
exhaustion ( ⫽ 0.19, p ⬍ 0.05) were significant and with the expected sign, which
supports H4a and H4b.
To test for mediation effects, we followed two processes given current conventions
concerning testing mediation hypotheses using SEM (Mackinnon et al., 2012). First, we
followed the steps described by Kenny et al. (1998) and all paths were tested
simultaneously using SEM (Figure 1). Second, we tested the indirect effects of the main
predictors (i.e. counterproductive meeting behaviors and meeting citizenship behaviors)
on the outcomes (i.e. employee engagement and emotional exhaustion) through the
mediators (i.e. meeting satisfaction and effectiveness) using bootstrapping methods
developed by Preacher and Hayes (2008).
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Variables
1. Counterproductive meeting behaviors
2. Meeting citizenship behaviors
3. Meeting satisfaction
4. Meeting effectiveness
5. Employee engagement
6. Emotional exhaustion
7. Age
8. Gender
9. Job level
M
SD
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
2.70
4.37
2.86
3.54
3.06
3.67
37.22
1.50
3.48
0.78
0.92
0.89
0.74
0.77
1.57
12.14
0.50
0.91
(0.91)
⫺0.11*
⫺0.44*
⫺0.37*
⫺0.11*
0.37*
0.02
⫺0.08
⫺0.01
(0.92)
0.34*
0.30*
0.34*
⫺0.30*
0.04
⫺0.08
⫺0.25*
(0.87)
0.61*
0.43*
⫺0.46*
0.02
⫺0.06
⫺0.20*
(0.92)
0.39*
⫺0.39*
0.02
⫺0.03
⫺0.13*
(0.92)
⫺0.56*
0.01
⫺0.02
⫺0.28*
(0.95)
⫺0.04
0.08
0.14*
–
0.07
⫺0.06
–
0.09*
–
Notes: N ⫽ 440; Diagonal values are the internal consistency reliability estimates for each scale; * p ⬍ 0.05 (2-tailed)
Love/hate
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Table II.
Means, standard
deviations and
intercorrelations of
all measures
MRR
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Counterproductive
meeting behaviors
–0.42*
Meeting
satisfaction
0.38*
Employee
engagement
–0.38*
–0.37*
1304
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0.35*
Figure 1.
Path model with
standardized
coefficients
Meeting citizenship
behaviors
0.32*
0.23*
Meeting
effectiveness
–0.22*
Emotional
exhaustion
Note: *p < 0.05
First, Figure 1 and Table III show the significant path coefficients following the steps
described by Kenny et al. (1998). Concerning employee engagement as a distal meeting
outcome, we found that meeting citizenship behaviors were related to both meeting
satisfaction ( ⫽ 0.35, p ⬍ 0.05) and effectiveness ( ⫽ 0.32, p ⬍ 0.05) and they were both
related to employee engagement ( ⫽ 0.38 and 0.23, respectively, p ⬍ 0.05). This finding
lends support to H5a and H5b. Moreover, counterproductive meeting behaviors were
related to both meeting satisfaction ( ⫽ ⫺0.42, p ⬍ 0.05) and effectiveness ( ⫽ ⫺0.37,
p ⬍ 0.05) and they were both related to employee engagement ( ⫽ 0.38 and 0.23,
respectively, p ⬍ 0.05), which supports H6a and H6b. Concerning emotional exhaustion
as a distal meeting outcome, we found that meeting citizenship behaviors were related to
both meeting satisfaction ( ⫽ 0.35, p ⬍ 0.05) and effectiveness ( ⫽ 0.32, p ⬍ 0.05) and
they were both related to emotional exhaustion ( ⫽ ⫺0.38 and ⫺0.22, respectively, p ⬍
0.05), thus lending support to H7a and H7b. Moreover, counterproductive meeting
behaviors were related to both meeting satisfaction ( ⫽ ⫺0.42, p ⬍ 0.05) and
effectiveness ( ⫽ ⫺0.37, p ⬍ 0.05) and they were both related to emotional exhaustion
( ⫽ ⫺0.38 and ⫺0.22, respectively, p ⬍ 0.05), which supports H8a and H8b.
Second, using 5,000 bootstrap samples, we computed indirect effects estimates along
with 95 per cent confidence intervals around the estimates (Table IV). All eight indirect
effects were significant (p ⬍ 0.05) and in the hypothesized directions, thus lending
further support to H5 through H8.
Discussion
This study considered both constructive and counterproductive meeting behaviors and
how they relate to both proximal meeting outcomes (i.e. immediate evaluations of work
meetings) and more distal meeting outcomes (i.e. individual engagement and emotional
exhaustion). Our findings add to research and theory concerning workplace meetings by
expanding the nomological network surrounding meeting effectiveness to include both
processes within the meeting and attitudes beyond the meeting context. Because
meetings are so common in daily organizational life, organizations must try to make
meetings as satisfying and effective as possible if they want employees to remain
engaged in their jobs and emotionally healthy at work.
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Measures
Direct effects model
Full mediation model
Partial mediation model
Fit indices
2
df
CFI
TLI
RMSEA
2,887.93*
936
0.96
0.96
0.06
2,749.04*
936
0.97
0.97
0.06
2,699.48*
932
0.97
0.97
0.06
Direct effects on engagement
Counterproductive meeting
behaviors
Meeting citizenship
behaviors
Meeting satisfaction
Meeting effectiveness
⫺0.10*
0.19*
–
–
Direct effects on emotional exhaustion
Counterproductive meeting
behaviors
0.19*
Meeting citizenship
behaviors
⫺0.16*
Meeting satisfaction
–
Meeting effectiveness
–
–
Love/hate
relationship
with meetings
1305
⫺0.12*
–
0.38*
0.23*
0.19*
0.37*
0.21*
–
0.19*
–
⫺0.38*
⫺0.22*
⫺0.16*
⫺0.26*
⫺0.15*
Direct effects on meeting satisfaction
Counterproductive meeting
behaviors
⫺0.43*
Meeting citizenship
behaviors
0.35*
⫺0.42*
⫺0.42*
0.35*
0.33*
Direct effects on meeting effectiveness
Counterproductive meeting
behaviors
⫺0.37*
Meeting citizenship
behaviors
0.32*
⫺0.37*
⫺0.37*
0.32*
0.31*
Note: N ⫽ 440; * p ⬍ 0.05
Findings
Our proposed mediation model, where meeting citizenship and counterproductive
meeting behaviors related to both employee engagement and emotional exhaustion
through their linkages with meeting satisfaction and effectiveness, received consistent
support from the data (Figure 1). Further, we found that the distinct relationships
between counterproductive versus meeting citizenship behaviors, on the one hand, and
distal outcome variables (engagement and emotional exhaustion), on the other hand,
persisted even while accounting for relationships between these two types of meeting
behaviors and proximal meeting outcomes (see the partial mediation model presented in
Table III). These findings are consistent with recent literature investigating the linkages
between meeting processes and workplace attitudes and performance outcomes more
generally (Allen and Rogelberg, 2013; Kauffeld and Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2012). In
Table III.
Fit indices and
standardized path
coefficients for
theoretical models
MRR
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1306
Table IV.
Mediation of the
effects of meeting
attendee behavior on
employee
engagement and
burnout through
meeting outcomes
Bootstrapping
Indirect effects
Product of coefficients

SE
Z
1. CMBA ¡ MS ¡ EE
2. CMBA ¡ ME ¡ EE
3. CMBA ¡ MS ¡ EX
4. CMBA ¡ ME ¡ EX
5. MCB ¡ MS ¡ EE
6. MCB ¡ ME ¡ EE
7. MCB ¡ MS ¡ EX
8. MCB ¡ ME ¡ EX
⫺0.21*
⫺0.15*
0.32*
0.22*
0.10*
0.08*
⫺0.23*
⫺0.17*
0.03
0.02
0.05
0.04
0.02
0.01
0.04
0.03
⫺7.29
⫺6.03
6.34
5.20
5.57
4.87
⫺5.84
⫺4.97
Percentile
95% CI
Lower Upper
BC 95% CI
Lower Upper
BCa 95% CI
Lower Upper
⫺0.28
⫺0.19
0.21
0.13
0.06
0.04
⫺0.33
⫺0.26
⫺0.29
⫺0.20
0.22
0.14
0.06
0.04
⫺0.34
⫺0.26
⫺0.28
⫺0.20
0.21
0.14
0.06
0.04
⫺0.33
⫺0.25
⫺0.14
⫺0.10
0.46
0.31
0.15
0.12
⫺0.14
⫺0.09
⫺0.14
⫺0.11
0.47
0.32
0.15
0.13
⫺0.15
⫺0.10
⫺0.14
⫺0.11
0.46
0.31
0.15
0.12
⫺0.15
⫺0.10
Notes: N ⫽ 440; * p ⬍ 0.05; CMBA ⫽ counterproductive meeting behaviors; MS ⫽ meeting
satisfaction; EE ⫽ employee engagement; ME ⫽ meeting effectiveness; EX ⫽ emotional exhaustion;
MCB ⫽ meeting citizenship behavior; BC ⫽ bias corrected; BCa ⫽ bias corrected and accelerated; 5,000
bootstrap samples
sum, our results illustrate that good and bad behaviors in meetings by attendees matter
to both proximal and distal outcomes for employees in organizations. As such, our
findings showcase the important role of meeting experiences in employees’ work lives.
Implications for meeting science
Our study has several theoretical implications. First, we developed a new survey
measure of counterproductive meeting behaviors that can inform meeting science aimed
at better understanding this critical issue in organizational meetings
(Lehmann-Willenbrock and Kauffeld, 2010). Previous research on within-meeting
processes has used behavioral observations and relatively complex, time-consuming and,
therefore, labor-intense process-analytical methods (Kauffeld and Meyers, 2009; Kauffeld
and Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2012; Lehmann-Willenbrock et al., 2011). However, these
previous studies have also paved the way for our new measure of counterproductive meeting
behavior, which is grounded in previous process-analytical meeting science. Results of
reliability analysis showed that this new survey has high internal consistency. Furthermore,
CFA showed good internal consistency of this new survey. As such, our survey approach
can provide a valuable tool for future scientific and practical attempts to understand good
and bad meeting behaviors and their effects on individual employees beyond the meeting
context, for example when managers or meeting leaders are trying to quickly grasp what did
or did not go well in a meeting to take necessary steps for improvement.
Second, our empirically supported model offers a juxtaposition of good and bad
meeting behaviors in a single model. As such, this study extends the majority of
previous meetings research that has focused exclusively on helpful meeting behaviors
(Baran et al., 2012; Rogelberg et al., 2010; Allen and Rogelberg, 2013), as well as the
smaller body of previous work that has focused only on harmful meeting behaviors
(Lehmann-Willenbrock and Kauffeld, 2010; Schulte et al., 2013). The reality of most
organizational meetings is that they will contain both good and bad meeting behaviors
in the same meeting. The question is whether the good or the bad outweigh one another,
in terms of the ways in which they can affect individual job attitudes and experiences. In
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fact, previous process-analytic findings suggest that bad meeting behaviors such as
complaining, running off topic or criticizing others outweigh good meeting behaviors
considerably (Kauffeld and Lehmann-Willenbrock, 2012). As such, it is of particular
importance to detect and understand counterproductive meeting behaviors. The new
survey measure of counterproductive meeting behaviors developed in this study is
readily applicable in organizational practice.
Third, our findings provide a more nuanced view of meeting outcomes. Our finding
that meeting behaviors were meaningfully linked to both proximal and more distal
meeting outcomes for the individual aligns with previous process-analytical findings
concerning linkages between meeting behavioral processes, on the one hand, and
meeting satisfaction and effectiveness as well as longer-term productivity and
organizational functioning, on the other hand (Kauffeld and Lehmann-Willenbrock,
2012). However, our present findings extend these previous insights in that we focused
on meeting outcomes for the individual participant, rather than aggregating behaviors
and meeting outcomes to the team level. Furthermore, in terms of providing a more
nuanced perspective of meeting outcomes, we considered both desired (i.e. engagement)
and undesired (i.e. emotional exhaustion) outcomes for individual meeting attendees,
and we identified the mediating mechanisms that help explain why the different types of
meeting behavior relate to these two outcomes. Identifying the mediating function of
proximal meeting outcomes (i.e. meeting satisfaction and meeting effectiveness) in the
link between within-meeting behaviors and the more distal outcome variables of
individual work engagement and emotional exhaustion is a move beyond previous
findings on the meeting behaviors–meeting outcomes link (Kauffeld and LehmannWillenbrock, 2012), and an important step forward for meeting science. In addition, our
finding that good versus bad meeting behaviors are differentially related to employee
engagement and emotional exhaustion underscores the fact that meetings are more than
just a “nuisance” that we have to live with at work; rather, they constitute an important
social context for managing employee attitudes and preventing emotional exhaustion.
Limitations and future directions
As with any empirical investigation, this study has several limitations. First, our online
survey used a cross-sectional study design and relied on self-report measures
concerning meeting behaviors and outcomes. As such, common-method bias could be a
potential issue. However, we followed recommendations by Conway and Lance (2010) in
terms of reporting our results as well as methodological fixes suggested by Podsakoff
et al. (2003). Methodologically, we rearranged the order of the measures on the survey,
thus better controlling for item-context-induced mood states, priming effects and other
biases related to question context or item location on the survey (Podsakoff et al., 2003).
In terms of reporting, we provided a CFA that confirmed a single factor was not the best
fitting model for the measurement model. If common-method bias were indeed present, a
single-factor model would fit as good as or better than the differentiated model (Conway and
Lance, 2010). Moreover, our sample was USA-American, which limits the generalizability of
our findings across different cultural settings. Meetings are particularly frequent in the US
context (Newlund, 2012), which underscores the importance of our present findings.
Nevertheless, future research should explore whether the linkages between good versus bad
meeting behaviors and individual engagement and exhaustion hold true in different cultural
contexts as well.
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Second, our use of a cross-sectional research design precludes any causal inferences.
Our findings regarding good and bad meeting behaviors and their relationships with
meeting effectiveness as well as employee engagement and exhaustion pave the way for
future research aimed at establishing the directionality of these effects. Future research
could manipulate good and bad meeting behaviors in a laboratory setting or
quasi-experimental field design, include longitudinal measures of proximal and distal
meeting outcomes or study the effects of training interventions aimed at improving
meeting behaviors in the field.
Third, we deliberately took a different approach in wording the items for our newly
developed measure of counterproductive meeting behaviors compared to the wording in
the available measure of meeting citizenship behaviors (Baran et al., 2012). Whereas the
meeting citizenship behavior items ask participants to report on their own behaviors,
our counterproductive meeting behavior items were worded such that participants
reported about the occurrence of these behaviors during their last meeting in general,
regardless of the specific actor(s). There may have been a self-serving bias concerning
the meeting citizenship measure, whereas we would hope that our counterproductive
meeting behavior measure may have yielded more objective results in comparison. We
chose this approach to avoid social desirability responses, as participants may not be
willing to admit – or may not reflect in hindsight – that they contributed
counterproductive behaviors themselves. However, future research could explore
whether a more direct item wording is feasible, to draw more direct comparisons
between meeting citizenship behaviors and counterproductive meeting behaviors
(which was not a core intent of the present investigation).
Fourth, this study was aimed at identifying the relationships between good versus
bad meeting behaviors and meeting effectiveness as well as employee attitudes and
experiences beyond the meeting context. However, we made no efforts to improve
participants’ meeting practices. Future research can strive to develop interventions,
based on identifying counterproductive meeting practices with our new measure, that
help stop draining meeting experiences for the individuals participating in them and
help organizations move forward.
Implications for organizational practice
Because this is the first study to show the relationships between both good and bad meeting
behaviors on meeting outcomes and individual job attitudes, there are several practical
implications worth mentioning. These implications occur at the individual employee level
(i.e. the meeting attendee), at the manager or meeting leader level and in terms of the
organization as a whole. First, as an individual employee or meeting attendee, our findings
suggest that one’s behaviors in a meeting, good and bad, appear to influence others in a
meaningful way. The implication here is that meeting attendees should self-correct their own
behavior and choose to engage in more meeting citizenship behavior generally.
Second, in terms of the manager or meeting leader, meeting ground rules can be set
that allow for the reward of good behavior and the sanctioning of bad behavior. That is,
meeting leaders should identify problematic behaviors early and often, thereby
discouraging such behavior. Conversely, they should also identify good behavior,
reward it and encourage it moving forward. Doing so will likely provide beneficial
outcomes for individual meeting attendees and the meeting group in general. Specific
trainings for meeting leaders could be tailored toward these issues.
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Finally, in terms of the organization, organizational leaders should consider an
organization-wide initiative to combat bad meeting behavior and promote good meeting
behavior. This could include incorporating meeting behavior into performance
appraisal systems or as a component of the annual engagement survey or both. By
institutionalizing positive meeting behaviors and promoting them, organizational
effectiveness may improve, one meeting at a time.
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Love/hate
relationship
with meetings
1311
MRR
39,10
Appendix
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1312
Figure A1.
Counterproductive
meeting behaviors
measure including
factor loadings and
scree plot
About the authors
Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock is an Assistant Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology at
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Her research is focused on understanding how
dynamic communication patterns emerge in teams and dyads and predict workplace attitudes
and performance. Her work has been published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, The
Leadership Quarterly, Group & Organization Management and the Journal of Vocational
Behavior, among others. Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock is the corresponding author and can be
contacted at:
[email protected]
Joseph A. Allen is an Associate Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology at the
University of Nebraska, Omaha. He has published extensively on meeting processes and meeting
effectiveness, and has recently edited The Cambridge Handbook of Meeting Science (with Nale
Lehmann-Willenbrock and Steven G. Rogelberg).
Dain Belyeu is the Collaboration, Information and Knowledge Management Practice Lead at
CASK LLC.
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