PRINCETON, N.J., May 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Disorganization is the greatest frustration for workers attending business meetings, according to Opinion Research USA's first "Ouch Point" survey, a new monthly study examining tolerance thresholds in a variety of common scenarios facing Americans in both their professional and personal lives. Surprisingly, tardiness is far better tolerated by the business community than disorganization, with only four percent frustrated by meetings starting late and five percent annoyed by attendees arriving late, the survey found.
"Structured business meetings with a closely followed agenda are often the most productive, particularly when attention spans can be short," said Jeff Resnick, President of Opinion Research USA. "Our first 'Ouch Point' survey indicates that a disorganized meeting is a disengaged meeting that will rarely result in the desired outcomes." While cell phone interruptions rank high on the list of business meeting Ouch Points (16 percent), Blackberry usage is seen as less intrusive, with only five percent of respondents frustrated by attendees checking their emails during a business meeting.
Additional irritants include long meetings with no refreshments (six percent); meetings without bathroom breaks (eight percent); and colleagues falling asleep in even the longest of meetings (nine percent).
The survey also yielded a "top 10" business meeting Ouch Point list, as follows: 1. Disorganized, rambling meetings 27%
2. People who interrupt peers and try to dominate the meeting 17%
3. Cell phone interruptions 16%
4. People who fall asleep in meetings 9%
5. Meetings with no bathroom breaks 8%
6. Long meetings without refreshments 6%
7. People leaving early or arriving late 5%
8. People who check their Blackberries during meetings 5%
9. Meetings starting late 4%
10. No written recap of the meeting outcomes 4% "Everyone has a pet peeve about even the smallest of tasks that have to be carried out on a daily basis," said Resnick. "In the world of business, the Ouch Point series helps organizations identify these issues and rectify them for their key stakeholders." About Opinion Research Corporation Opinion Research Corporation, an infoUSA company, has offered innovative solutions to the toughest market research challenges of clients worldwide since 1938. Opinion Research USA has been conducting national, speech reaction, state and flash/overnight polls for CNN since April 2006. To learn more, visit http://www.opinionresearch.com/.
About infoUSA Founded in 1972, infoUSA (NASDAQ:IUSA) is the leading provider of business and consumer databases for sales leads & mailing lists, database marketing services, data processing services and sales and marketing solutions. Nearly 4 million customers use infoUSA's products and services to find new customers, grow their sales, and more. infoUSA is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. To learn more, visit http://www.infousa.com/.
CONTACT: CAROLYN WERBLER
OPINION RESEARCH USA
Phone: (609) 452 5258 CAROLINE HARRIS
CJP COMMUNICATIONS
Phone: (212) 279-3115 ext. 222
DATASOURCE: Opinion Research USA CONTACT: Carolyn Werbler of Opinion Research USA, +1-609-452-5258; or Caroline Harris of CJP Communications, +1-212-279-3115 ext. 222 Web site: http://www.opinionresearch.com/ http://www.infousa.com/
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