One in four meetings are a waste of time, according to a new survey, and during the economic downturn this is damaging both company performance and staff morale.

But while a lack of focus is mainly to blame, there are plenty of other reasons for so much productivity being sucked up in worthless talk-fests that take up valuable work time.

The Robert Half 2009 Workplace Survey found that New Zealand’s finance, accounting and HR managers think more than one quarter – 25.7% - of their meetings are a waste of time.