Only 31% of workers fully focused as ‘busy work’ surges: Resume Now

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — A new survey from career platform Resume Now reveals that fewer than one-third (31%) of workers feel fully focused at their jobs every day. The findings suggest the modern workplace is increasingly defined by low-value tasks, unproductive meetings, and pressure to remain connected outside of working hours.

Productivity stalled by busy work, meeting overload

The company’s Fleeting Flow Report, which surveyed 1,012 employed United States adults, finds that 77% of employees say busy work consumes a meaningful portion of their week. Among those, 40% estimate that low-value, repetitive tasks occupy a quarter or more of their total weekly hours.

The rise has not helped this in the number of meetings. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of users say half or fewer of the meetings they attend are productive.

Moreover, 38% of workers dedicate more than 5 hours a week to conferences, which may distract them from detailed, continuous work.

The report notes that “when low-value tasks and unproductive meetings take up a large share of the week, focused work becomes something employees squeeze in rather than plan for.”

“That shift can make progress feel slower, and workdays feel fuller without feeling more accomplished, leading to widespread burnout.”

‘Always-on’ culture fuels burnout risks

The survey indicates that pressure to be digitally available beyond the usual work hours has become a structural characteristic of most jobs.

Fifty-eight percent of workers say they are expected to be available outside regular hours, and 32% say it is frequent or constant. Workload volume, as well as the normative workplace expectations, motivate this expectation.

More than 44% of employees work beyond their normal hours because they are unable to finish their work on a normal day. Another 19% attribute direct pressure from management or the company’s culture as the cause of after-hours access. 

The information indicates that prolonged access is not a one-off condition but a systemic one, further eroding the distinction between work and personal time that facilitates cognitive recovery.

Top daily distractions: Fatigue and digital interruptions

Focus does not simply become diffused by the mass of labour; a set of day-to-day disturbances violently shakes it. 

The least preferred factor to productivity (41%) is fatigue or burnout. In the second place are personal distractions and colleagues’ interruptions, both of which were identified by 35% of participants.

Technological intrusions also play a measurable role. Twenty-five percent of workers consider social media a productivity killer, 21% consider too many meetings a productivity killer, and 19 percent consider too many notifications or digital pings a productivity killer.

Less frequent but contributing to the friction that prevents sustained attention are technical glitches, which occur less frequently at 15. Collectively, these disruptions result in a work environment in which flow is rather the exception than the rule.

As the report notes, “Productivity drain happens when busy work and interruptions keep workers from achieving true focus.”

Deep work and digital fatigue

Although the idea of deep work and conscious attention is widely discussed, Resume Now’s results indicate that most workers rarely experience psychological immersion in their work. Only a third of employees (31%) report being fully focused daily. 

Although 46% indicate they have entered a flow state multiple times a week, there is no consistency to it, and a large part of the workforce is not aligned with this working style.

Fifteen percent of respondents reach a flow state only occasionally, and 8% say they rarely or never experience deep focus. The survey further links this inability to concentrate with the rise of digital communication tools. 

Nearly 8 out of 10 employees (79) report experiencing some Zoom fatigue, with 8% experiencing it daily and 20% seldom. 

The report notes, “If deep focus only happens sporadically, workers may spend more time ramping up, resetting, and catching up than producing at their peak. That can make performance feel inconsistent, even when effort stays high.”

Resume Now cites the findings as evidence that workplace productivity strategies should focus not on personal motivation but on systematic redesign.