The afternoon drop in productivity across the nation's meetings attendees is a well-known occurrence according to a recent survey, with 44 percent of respondents confirming they feel less productive between 2-4pm. A recent global survey by Hilton, which uncovered the habits of British, German and U.S. meeting attendees, revealed that over one in three (34 percent) admitted to feeling drowsy or falling asleep during meetings after lunch.
Key reasons for the afternoon slump for Brits correlate with meetings that fail to provide nutriouts and energizing food or adequate breaks that allow attendees to be active. Supporting this, Hilton's international survey shows that most meeting attendees consider themselves active and healthy in their daily lives but more than half don't maintain this routine when on the road for meetings.
Brits show themselves to be truly addicted to their phones and laptops during meetings with over half sending unimportant emails or texts, one in five playing games or checking the latest sports scores.
Despite the drop, a staggering 86 percent of British meeting attendees recognise that activities as simple as a quick walk or mid-afternoon stretch help them overcome the slump and improve productivity. When it comes to food, 80 percent know that a heavy lunch reduces afternoon productivity and 72 percent of respondents prefer locally sourced, healthy lunches. Meeting attendees need a productivity boost but this is not presently offered.
Today Hilton extends Meet with Purpose to more than 400 hotels in Europe and UAE, including all UK hotels, following a successful introduction in the U.S. last year. The programme aims to address the needs of meetings attendees with a range of solutions to overcome productivity issues. Meet with Purpose offers meeting and event professionals with solutions to seamlessly and cost-effectively plan meetings with nutritious meals, exercise and sustainability elements.
