It's 3pm. Shall we have meeting?

Meeting time?

A new study has revealed that 3pm on Tuesday is the best time to call a meeting in the workplace as it provides the optimal time for prospective employees to be free.

Meetings can often be the bane of the workplace, and are commonly seen as nothing more than a major nuisance for colleagues. Many offices will call a meeting first thing on a Monday, under the misconception that the timing offers the perfect chance to "reconnect" with workers after their disbanding for the weekend.

However, the truth is that many office workers view this as being a little too early for a meeting - instead viewing it as a intrusion on their time otherwise reserved for a coffee, checking emails, catching up with co-workers about what they did with their Saturday and Sundays, and, well, getting on with some work.

As such, according to findings in this new report - conducted by online scheduling service When Is Good, found that Tuesday afternoons offer the best time to get the team together for a crucial meeting. 3pm on a Tuesday afternoon, to be precise.

Findings

The study, which analysed 100,000 responses to 34,000 meeting requests sent by When Is Good users, claims that the findings are largely psychological.

Keith Harris, When Is Good's chief executive told the BBC News: "3pm is often coffee break time, so psychologically people can see themselves talking over a coffee. Anecdotally, our users wanted to put off meetings until the last possible time. They want to reserve the morning for their own tasks."

Harris adds that the timing offers a perfect melding of employee availability, motivation and willingness, far outpacing all other possible times to hold a meeting.

Interestingly, the findings also showed that staff are more receptive to lunchtime meetings than the authors had expected. "There was a slight dip [in acceptances], but people are prepared to work over lunch," says Harris.

Of course, for many, a reluctance to hold a meeting so late in the day remains. This is because executives believe people on the whole tend to be more creative and better at problem solving in the morning, with afternoons offering an optimal time to focus on collaborative and team work.

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