Despite all the talk about making meetings more effective, workers are spending more time than ever in pointless meetings, according to the Institute of Business Technology's White Collar Productivity Index. The average worker spends 2.1 hours per week in what they consider ineffective meetings, up from 0.7 in 2000. Why? With fewer people in the office to do the work, employees feel the need to collaborate more — but, in many cases, they actually accomplish less.