Why UAE Businesses Are Cutting Meetings for Productivity

Meetings once seemed essential, a core fixture of office life. Yet in recent years, more and more companies are daring to ask, “Is there a better way?” The rise of workplace tools like Slack, Teams, and AI-driven communication channels has opened the door for businesses to reimagine how collaboration happens, particularly when meetings drain more time and energy than they’re worth. Nowhere is this shift more prominent than in the UAE, where businesses are actively changing their approach to meetings to foster productivity, reduce burnout, and refocus on meaningful work.

Are Meetings Still Worth It?

The traditional workplace meeting is under scrutiny. Increasingly, professionals are questioning their value, efficiency, and significance in the modern workday. The sentiment of “Could this have been a Slack message?” is gaining traction, perfectly encapsulating the frustrations so many employees feel.

Take Dubai-based athleisure brand, The Giving Movement, for instance. Feeling overwhelmed by the relentless meeting culture within its walls, the company asked an important question that reshaped its operations. Chief People and Culture Officer Sabahatt Habib recalled the frustration of endless meetings sucking away creative energy and time to execute ideas. To combat this, their headquarters now poses a simple question on every meeting room door: “Could this have been a Slack message?”

Habib explained how back-to-back meetings drained the team, both mentally and creatively. “Time is the one resource we can’t get back,” she said. In response, the company shifted its focus to smaller, leaner, and more purposeful ways of collaborating. The effects? Improved energy, productivity, and morale among team members.

How Much Do Unnecessary Meetings Cost Businesses?

The financial implications of excessive, unproductive meetings are staggering. A University of North Carolina at Charlotte study revealed that unnecessary meetings could cost companies with 100 employees upwards of $2.5 million annually. And for larger organizations, such as those with 5,000 staff members, the figure balloons to well over $100 million per year. It is no wonder that some of the world’s biggest brands—including Shopify, Meta, and Canva—are taking aggressive steps to overhaul their meeting culture.

Shopify’s Meeting Overhaul

Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify canceled all recurring meetings involving more than three people and introduced “No Meeting Wednesdays” back in 2023. By eliminating over 12,000 calendar events, the company reclaimed an incredible 36 years’ worth of otherwise wasted meeting time. Shopify’s bold approach is setting the benchmark for companies worldwide seeking to optimize their workflows.

Fewer Meetings, Better Results

The reality is beginning to set in for many organizations: the problem isn’t meetings themselves; it’s how frequently they occur and how poorly they’re run. Dubai-based corporate consultant Sonal Chiber asserts that excessive meetings disrupt deep work, scatter focus, and heighten employee burnout.

Chiber highlighted that businesses, particularly multinationals, are shifting toward practices like quarterly “Focus Weeks,” during which internal meetings are minimized to allow space for innovation. Communication tools such as Microsoft Teams and Slack keep productivity intact without interrupting workflows.

Adding to this sentiment, Nicola Ellegaard, Managing Director at PR agency Budgie PR, explained how cutting down on meetings revolutionized her agency’s efficiency. Instead of hosting routine, often redundant client meetings, the agency switched to once-monthly check-ins while maintaining daily communication through real-time messaging tools.

“It’s not just about reducing meetings,” says Ellegaard. “It’s about making the ones you do have count. Too many of them lead to fatigue—not just for us, but for our clients too.”

Better Tools, Smarter Strategies

Digital tools and technologies are playing a central role in the meeting revolution. Businesses are increasingly turning to tech to eliminate inefficiencies and streamline workflows.

For Samina Ghori, Deputy CEO of Kaya Wellness and Longevity Clinics, tools like AI-powered meeting transcripts and automated summaries ensure that time spent in meetings revolves around clear goals. The company has also adopted policy changes, such as capping meetings at 15–30 minutes and eliminating traditional slide presentations in favor of actionable discussions.

“Meetings without structure are energy-draining distractions,” says Ghori. “By keeping them goal-focused and fast-paced, we’ve created a culture of smarter and more collaborative decision-making.”

A Checklist for Effective Meetings

If skipping meetings altogether isn’t feasible, optimizing how they’re run is essential. HR consultant Nandini Navaseelan has three golden rules for ensuring meetings are efficient and impactful:

1. Start with a clear goal – Define the purpose upfront. If it can’t be summarized in one sentence, it’s not worth the time.
2. Focus on outcomes – Center the conversation on actionable tasks or results.
3. End with accountability – Assign clear action items to team members and set deadlines to ensure follow-through.

Making Room for Innovation

Sometimes, less truly is more. As companies around the world are learning, fewer meetings give employees the mental space to focus on strategy, creativity, and innovation. UAE businesses are leading the charge in combating “performative” meeting culture and instead fostering an environment where collaboration happens in smarter, more meaningful ways.

For your next team conversation, ask yourself the ultimate question, “Could this have been a message?” If the answer is yes, skip the meeting and save your time for high-impact work.