Accountants Get Two Hours Focus Time Daily, Hubstaff Data Shows

Workers average just 2–3 hours of uninterrupted deep work per day, according to time-tracking data from 140,000+ employees across 17,000 organisations. For CFOs and accountants juggling month-end closes and audit prep, that's barely enough time to reconcile a complex GL account.

Hubstaff's 2026 Global Work Index, released 26 January, defines "focus time" as periods without meetings, messages, or app switching. The analysis found only 39% of tracked hours qualify. Managers and team leaders fare worse, averaging just 27% focus time.

Hybrid Teams Report Lowest Focus

Hybrid arrangements delivered the least uninterrupted work (31% of hours), while in-office teams clocked 45% and fully remote teams 41%. Meeting volume has doubled year-on-year, with organisations now running nearly six times more meetings than two years ago. A quarter occur during peak deep-work hours. Another third fall outside standard business hours.

Workers toggle between an average of 18 apps daily. Sales roles juggle even more.

"Teams aren't failing at productivity, they're working in systems that constantly disrupt focus," said Jared Brown, Hubstaff CEO. "If leaders want better returns on their AI investments, they need to treat focus time as a core operating principle."

Billable Hours Take the Hit

For accounting and advisory firms tracking billable hours, fragmented days erode both revenue and output quality. Financial modelling, variance analysis, and technical accounting memos demand sustained attention. Breaking concentration for Slack pings or status meetings resets the clock.

AI tool adoption is rising, but actual usage hours remain flat, suggesting hype outpaces workflow integration. Hubstaff's data, anonymised at team level, helps CFOs benchmark productivity across roles and workstyles without micromanagement.

Protecting morning blocks and batching meetings may be the simplest fix. The data confirms what most finance teams already suspect: you can't close the books in 15-minute increments.