The 7 Rings of Meeting Hell

If Dante had worked in a modern office, he’d have scrapped the nine circles and focused entirely on meetings.

Because deep within the fluorescent-lit corridors of working life lie the seven rings of meeting hell — each one uniquely exasperating.

The First Ring is the Realm of No Agenda.

Here, people are summoned without purpose. No one quite knows why they’re there, but everyone has turned up out of politeness or fear. The host opens with “So… what are we here to talk about again?” and from that moment, all hope fades.

The Second Ring belongs to the Oversharer.

This soul believes meetings are a safe space for stream-of-consciousness storytelling. They answer every question with a personal anecdote that begins in 2004 and ends somewhere near irrelevance. Others smile and nod, trapped in polite silence.

The Third Ring is ruled by the Ghost Host.

This is the person who called the meeting, added it to your calendar, and then… vanished. No explanation. No agenda. No appearance. Just you and a few confused colleagues wondering what you’ve done to deserve this.

The Fourth Ring crackles with Tech Torture.

Screens won’t share, mics don’t work, someone’s dialling in from a moving vehicle with wind howling down the line. Every sentence begins with “Can you hear me?” and ends with “Oh no, you go…” This is the sound of time evaporating.

The Fifth Ring loops endlessly in Repetition.

One person says something. Another repeats it, slightly louder. A third rephrases it in the form of a question. Eventually, someone summarises what’s just been said… and you realise it’s what was said 40 minutes ago. This ring never ends.

The Sixth Ring is where Decisions Disappear.

You think a decision has been made. Everyone nodded. It felt conclusive. But a week later, nothing’s changed. There’s no follow-up, no action, and apparently no memory of what was agreed. It's like the Bermuda Triangle, but for outcomes.

The Seventh Ring is the Eternal Meeting.

It was meant to be 30 minutes. You booked a room, even added a buffer. But it drags on, oozing past the hour mark, devouring your day while someone is now screen-sharing an Excel sheet with 18 tabs and no mercy.

And yet, there is hope.

The way out of meeting hell is deceptively simple: Don’t default to a meeting. Could this be an email? A shared doc? A five-minute phone call? If so, do that. Respect time like it’s a scarce resource. Because it is.

And when you do need a meeting, make it tight, purposeful, and kind to the clock.

Fewer meetings. Better meetings. That’s how we rise.