New Research Identifies Energy as Critical Meeting KPI, Revealing Widespread Workplace Energy Recession

A comprehensive survey of U.S. knowledge workers conducted by Funmentum Labs has identified energy as the most critical factor in successful meetings, surpassing traditional metrics like productivity and purpose. The research reveals a workplace energy recession, with only one in three employees rating their meetings as excellent and less than half reporting feeling energized after work meetings.

The data shows 37% of employees feel joyless and drained, attributing this to meetings that go nowhere, while just 39% find their meetings memorable. Government, healthcare, and manufacturing workers reported the worst meeting experiences. The survey uncovered a significant disconnect between leadership and individual contributors, with 43% of directors rating meetings as excellent compared to only 24% of individual contributors.

According to the findings, 53% of employees say shared laughter provides the most energy at work, and 52% identify spontaneous creativity or humor as the fastest way to re-energize teams. Mark Halvorson, co-founder and CEO of Funmentum Labs, stated that energy is the new KPI, and Funware brings it back to meetings so people leave feeling better than when they walked in.

In response to these findings, Funmentum Labs launched Funware, an AI-powered facilitation platform designed to transform meeting experiences. The platform acts as a built-in meeting facilitator for Zoom, offering one-click meeting activities that require zero preparation. Key features include AI concierge matching, personalized session tailoring, automatic recaps, and AI guests to spark ideas and break the ice.

Jeremy Utley, Stanford d.school Professor and AI Expert, noted that Funware helped his corporate clients reframe team meetings as something to look forward to rather than another drain on the calendar. The platform includes 25+ proven team activities and offers custom activity design for unique team challenges.

The survey highlights that industries such as finance, insurance, and real estate often rely on a few natural energy coworkers to carry meetings, a model identified as unsustainable. Kenny White, co-founder of Funmentum Labs, explained that most tools promise productivity while Funware enables better chemistry, designed to break the Groundhog Day cycle and restore the energy that drives real outcomes.

The research suggests that return-to-office mandates and project management tools have failed to address workplace culture issues, while AI has automated tasks without improving the human experience of work. Employees described their workday soundtrack as Groundhog Day, indicating widespread meeting fatigue and monotony that impacts overall workplace satisfaction and performance.