Busy Season Stress Survey: John Briggs' 3.3 Rule Offers Accountants a Pace
Nov 14, 2026
A 2025 survey found 75% of senior accountants find busy season stressful. John Briggs' 3.3 Rule offers firm leaders a structured pacing method to plan workload and ease accounting team strain.
Draper, United States, November 14, 2026 /PressCable/ -- The Real John Briggs is addressing busy-season workload planning for accounting firms as tax season approaches, pointing to its 3.3 Rule as a pacing framework for teams. The approach gives owners and managing partners a structured way to plan workload so staff move through busy season with less strain. Rather than offering a general wellness message, the rule outlines a method for setting priorities and spacing out effort across the season.
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The timing follows a survey of 110 audit and tax professionals conducted by staffing agency Distinct, which found that 75% of senior accountants described busy season as somewhat or extremely stressful. That figure points to a concentration of strain among mid-career staff, the group firms rely on most heavily for delivery and client relationships.
Long hours appear to be a central driver behind that stress, since nearly 80% of surveyed professionals worked more than 51 hours per week during busy season, with 48.1% logging 51 to 60 hours and 31.4% exceeding 61 hours. Stress climbed further among those working 61 to 80 hours, while professionals working 40 to 50 hours were notably more likely to report a positive experience, suggesting that hour limits carry real weight in shaping outcomes.
Working fewer hours was not the only factor respondents pointed to; many credited proactive planning, regular check-ins, clear client boundaries, and intentional limits on working hours for easing the load. Unpredictability and a lack of control emerged repeatedly as sources of added strain, indicating that structure matters as much as raw hours.
The 3.3 Rule applies these same principles in a practical form for firm leadership. The framework centers on proactive planning and prioritization, paired with intentional breaks built into the workweek, echoing the check-ins and boundaries respondents described as helpful, and aims to give teams a predictable rhythm during the busiest months rather than leaving workload to shift reactively.
Owners and managing partners carry the responsibility for setting that rhythm each season. The 3.3 Rule provides a tool firm leaders can apply when planning workload, with the aim of reducing stress while supporting retention and performance during peak months. Firm leadership looking to plan a steadier busy season can learn more through The Real John Briggs at https://therealjohnbriggs.com/
Contact Info:
Name: John Briggs
Email: Send Email
Organization: The Real John Briggs
Address: 38 13775 South #210, Draper, Utah 84020, United States
Website: https://therealjohnbriggs.com/
Source: PressCable
Release ID: 89209663
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