Approximately 80% of Working Professionals Feel 'Waste and Inefficiency'; 'Inconclusive Meetings' Rank #1 as Most Wasteful Task; Efficiency Starts with 'Meeting Reduction'

Asuno System Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Takeiku Saito), a group company of MCEA Holdings Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Takeiku Saito) and operator of 'Kaigishitsu.COM', one of Japan's largest meeting room rental search sites, conducted the '2026 Survey on Waste and Inefficiency at Work' targeting 300 employees. Despite the push for digitalization and DX promotion, many inefficiencies still exist in daily operations. This survey clarified the actual state of waste felt by business professionals and their awareness and expectations for efficiency.

〖TOPICS〗
■ Approximately 80% feel 'waste and inefficiency' at work (often + sometimes: 78.7%)
■ The most 'wasteful task' is 'inconclusive meetings' (64.4%)
■ Approximately 80% feel that 'work hours are increasing' (strongly agree + somewhat agree: 77.0%)
■ The top characteristic of 'inefficient meetings' is 'no conclusion is reached' (58.7%)
■ The top factor reducing work efficiency is 'lack of information sharing' (49.7%)
■ The top expectation from companies for efficiency is 'meeting reduction' (38.3%)
■ Approximately 86% believe efficiency will become 'more important' in the future (strongly agree + somewhat agree: 86.0%)

〖Survey Overview〗
Survey Target: Employees (regular, contract, temporary), executives and officers
Sample Size: 300
Survey Method: Internet survey
Survey Period: May 20, 2026
*When citing the survey results from this release, please include 'Survey by Kaigishitsu.COM (Asuno System Co., Ltd.)'.

■Q1 Approximately 80% feel 'waste and inefficiency'; daily inefficiency at work
When asked if they feel 'waste and inefficiency' at work, 78.7% responded 'often' (24.3%) or 'sometimes' (54.3%), revealing that about 80% of business professionals experience work inefficiency. Meanwhile, only 15.0% said 'rarely' and a mere 6.3% said 'never', suggesting that inefficiency is a daily challenge in many workplaces.

■Q2 Most 'wasteful task': 'Inconclusive meetings' rank first (64.4%)
When asked about the most wasteful tasks (multiple answers allowed), 'inconclusive meetings' ranked first at 64.4%, followed by 'unnecessary document creation' (60.5%) and 'duplicate data entry/redundant work' (35.9%). This highlights that significant time is spent on meetings themselves, as well as their preparation and follow-up, indicating an urgent need to review meeting quality and management.

■Q3 Nearly 80% feel 'work hours are increasing'; the cost of inefficiency is serious
When asked if they feel their work hours are increasing due to waste and inefficiency, a combined 77.0% said 'strongly agree' (20.0%) or 'somewhat agree' (57.0%), approaching 80%. Only about 20% combined said 'rarely' (17.0%) or 'never' (6.0%), indicating that the time cost of inefficiency is a serious problem in many workplaces.

■Q4 Characteristics of 'inefficient meetings': 'No conclusion' and 'unclear purpose' top the list
Regarding the characteristics of meetings perceived as inefficient (multiple answers allowed), 'no conclusion is reached' was the most common at 58.7%, followed by 'unclear purpose' (50.0%) and 'long material explanations' (37.3%). It is clear that there are issues across the entire operational aspect of meetings, including design, facilitation, and preparation, calling for structural improvements such as agenda setting and time management.

■Q5 Efficiency of work environment: Over 44% do not feel efficient; highlighting environmental challenges
When asked if they feel their current work environment is efficient and easy to work in, a combined 44.3% said 'rarely' (34.7%) or 'never' (9.7%), accounting for about 45%. Only 9.7% said 'strongly agree', highlighting that many business professionals face challenges with their current work environment.

■Q6 Factors reducing work efficiency: 'Lack of information sharing' and 'too many meetings' top the list
As factors reducing work efficiency (multiple answers allowed), 'lack of information sharing' topped the list at 49.7%, followed by 'too many meetings' (37.7%), 'heavy workload' (32.0%), and 'internal rules/approval processes' (30.7%). This reveals a complex interplay of information flow issues and an excess of meetings and approval processes hindering work efficiency.

■Q7 Expectations from companies: 'Meeting reduction' is the overwhelming #1 (38.3%)
Regarding expectations from companies for work efficiency (multiple answers allowed), 'meeting reduction' topped the list at 38.3%, followed by 'improving work flows' (30.7%) and 'flexible work styles' (29.3%). 'DX promotion' (21.0%) and 'automation of routine tasks (including RPA/AI)' (19.7%) were also in the top ranks. This clearly shows that business professionals consider meeting reform the most important breakthrough for efficiency.

■Q8 Work style for concentration: 'Office environment conducive to individual work' ranks first
When asked about the work style that allows them to concentrate the most (single answer), 'an office environment conducive to individual work' was the most popular at 34.0%, followed by 'an office environment conducive to team discussion and casual chat' (21.7%) and 'no particular preference' (21.3%). 'Primarily remote work' (8.0%) was a minority, suggesting that the quality of the physical office environment is directly linked to concentration.

■Q9 Importance of work efficiency: Overwhelming majority of approximately 86% say it will become 'more important'
When asked if they think work efficiency will become even more important in the future, a combined 86.0% said 'strongly agree' (40.3%) or 'somewhat agree' (45.7%), reaching nearly 90%. Only 14.0% combined said 'rarely' (9.7%) or 'never' (4.3%), indicating that awareness of work efficiency is expected to continue to grow.

■Summary
This survey revealed that approximately 80% of business professionals experience work inefficiency daily, and 77.0% feel their work hours are increasing as a result.
'Inconclusive meetings' (64.4%) were cited as the top 'wasteful task', and 'no conclusion' and 'unclear purpose' were top characteristics of 'inefficient meetings'. Furthermore, 'meeting reduction' was the top expectation from companies for efficiency (38.3%), consistently showing across multiple questions that 'meetings' are the most critical theme for work efficiency.
Additionally, 'lack of information sharing' (49.7%) ranked first as a factor reducing work efficiency, suggesting a growing need for organizational efforts such as improving information flow through technology and reviewing approval flows and rules.
Based on this background, 'Kaigishitsu.COM', the meeting room search site operated by Asuno System, aims to contribute to improving the productivity of business professionals by supporting the selection of optimal meeting rooms that enhance the quality of the meeting itself.
The company will continue to conduct periodic surveys on work styles.