*Muhammad Haseeb Shakil, Jaffar Mahmood Butt, Rana Nadir Idrees

Abstract: Organizational teams are set for the day during morning meetings, which are conducted universally across institutions for their claimed benefits. Despite their growing popularity, the efficacy of these meetings is continually being challenged, especially in bureaucratic institutional settings where there is employee burnout, disinterest, and reduced productivity. This case study illustrates the challenges associated with morning meetings in third-tier institutions using interview data from 20 employees in different sectors, observational data, and existing literature concerning the topic. A qualitative approach was chosen to capture the nuanced emotional, cognitive, and workflow-related experiences of employees, which quantitative methods may overlook, thereby directly addressing the research questions. This study uniquely identifies the cognitive and emotional toll of morning meetings in bureaucratic, low-autonomy workplaces, a gap overlooked in prior research. Findings indicate that morning meetings, when inadequately designed, lead to cognitive interruptions, adherence-related workflows, and excessive psychosomatic strain on employees. Participants, as reported, displayed signs of apathy, with a considerable number shifting to passive engagement or other forms of work as coping strategies. In addition, this study documents the effects of toxic domination. Participants reported experiencing disempowering criticism and vertical dominance, which made the meetings further counterproductive and demoralizing. Employees, on the other hand, expressed a strong preference for asynchronous communication tools that allow flexibility. The study makes recommendations to transforming meeting policy through inclusive leadership and attending to the health of employees through supportive measures. Addressing this set of needs can enable organisations to transform meetings from a source of problematic behaviours to enduring, friction-free, productive practices.