“You’re on mute.”
It’s 2026. We’ve been working online for decades now. (I got my first work-from-home job in 2008). And yet we still haven’t figured out the mute button on zoom.
I admit it, I just did it on Monday! First, you talk into a muted microphone and what follows is awkward silence until someone says “you’re on mute.” Then the scramble to unmute. The apology. And finally we move on.
We’re so used to it but instead of brushing it off, it’s worth looking at what’s really happening, not to mention the cost.
The average knowledge worker sits in about 10 meetings a week. If just half of those meetings have a “you’re on mute” moment (and each one costs 10 seconds) that’s about 850 seconds a year, or roughly 15 minutes per employee. At an average fully loaded cost of $75/hour, that’s about $19 per person. Multiply that across 50 million knowledge workers, and you’re still looking at nearly $1 billion a year spent on a single, avoidable moment.
But the number isn’t the point. What’s really being wasted is our attention.
Here’s my theory: People aren’t completely disengaged, but they aren’t fully present either. Attention is split across tabs, messages, and whatever comes next on the calendar. We are perpetually in a low grade state of distraction.
Our consciousness is fragmented and that same disconnect shows up in less obvious ways throughout the meeting. Details get missed, points get repeated, people ask questions that were already answered. Conversations drift because not everyone is fully tracking and decisions move forward without everyone understanding how they were made.
Nothing feels dramatically broken in the moment. Everything just takes a little longer, lands a little off, and requires a little more follow-up than it should. Over time, that compounds.
When you notice a problem, many leaders try to action trap the issue by fixing the structure. Better agendas, shorter meetings, or fewer attendees. Those changes can help but they don’t solve the real issue. Attention is the lever that rarely gets addressed directly.
Without it, ownership weakens because people don’t fully absorb what they’re responsible for. Follow-through slips because context is incomplete. Clarity doesn’t stick because decisions are made in a room where attention is divided. People believe they are contributing but their contribution is shaped by how present they actually are.
I’ve been thinking about this more since I started practicing transcendental meditation. Sitting in silence should be the easiest place to stay focused. It isn’t. Even with no external distractions, the mind moves constantly. Planning, replaying, solving, drifting. That carries over into how we show up at work.
Most people don’t join meetings fully present and then lose focus. They join already fragmented. Part of their attention is in the meeting, part of it is somewhere else. From there, it only takes a small distraction for it to slip further. “You’re on mute” is just the moment when it becomes obvious.
The thing I’ve realized is this: Most people don’t lose focus in meetings. They arrive without it. I know that’s true for me. Meditation just made that visible.
What’s the bottom line? The quality of your results is limited by the quality of your attention. And right now many of us are operating far below our capacity, because we’re not fully present.
“You’re on mute” isn’t the problem. It’s the proof.
Elsewhere in Culture
This week on the CEO Daily Brief we talked about:
Where’s the Beef with My Co-Host John Frehse Beef prices are rising while supply is tightening, and workers in the industry are walking out because they can’t afford the very product they’re producing.
What starts as a story about cattle and cost quickly becomes something broader. When employees are priced out of the system they help sustain, it raises questions about how stable that system actually is. This conversation looks at labor pressure, supply chain strain, and the idea that many industries may be closer to the edge than they appear. When small shifts create outsized reactions, it is often a sign that something deeper has been building for a while. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ceo-daily-brief-with-dr-jessica-kriegel/id1725350421?i=1000756732223 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2NGwtVuOJ0t7nYUWABQeo0?si=2c3b835d583e47dd
Decision Making with My Co-Host Tracey Abbott Leaders are constantly searching for better data, clearer signals, and more certainty before making a move.
This conversation challenges that instinct. Tracy makes the case that most leaders already have what they need to decide, but hesitate anyway. We explore the role of intuition, how it is built over time, and why waiting for perfect information can quietly stall progress. The discussion also looks at the discipline of reflecting on past decisions and recognizing patterns in how you think, act, and respond under pressure. The risk is not always in moving too fast. Sometimes it is in waiting too long. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ceo-daily-brief-with-dr-jessica-kriegel/id1725350421?i=1000757238095 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5r86jkcKJNz1SajAQB2xDR?si=1f35ab605b154b8d
And coming later this week:
Debt Crisis with My Co-Host John Frehse Household debt is at record levels, emergency savings are shrinking, and defaults are rising across categories like auto loans and credit cards.
This conversation goes beyond the numbers and into the behavior behind them. Even as financial pressure increases, spending continues. We explore the mindset driving that contradiction, the pressure to maintain a certain standard of living, and the deeper question of why “more” still feels necessary even when it is unsustainable. When the system depends on continued consumption but individuals are running out of margin, something has to give. The question is not if. It is when.
AI Knows You with My Co-Host Megan Miller A job candidate was asked to open ChatGPT during an interview and read out their behavioral tendencies based on their chat history.
What sounds like a provocative interview tactic opens up a bigger conversation about identity, privacy, and how well we actually know ourselves. Jessica and Megan explore whether AI is simply reflecting patterns we already exhibit or revealing something deeper that we tend to ignore. The discussion also raises questions about how we evaluate people at work, what is fair to ask, and how quickly new technology becomes normalized in environments that once resisted far less. When a tool can describe you in seconds, it forces a different kind of self-awareness.
Listen to CEO Daily Brief with Dr. Jessica Kriegel wherever you get your podcasts.