Utah isn’t simply the birthplace of JW Marriott, land of “America’s First Department Store,” and the unlikely launchpad of Kentucky Fried Rooster (sure, you learn that accurately). The Beehive State additionally has the nation’s greatest work setting, based on WalletHub rankings launched Monday.
As its identify suggests, the non-public finance firm’s annual Happiest States in America listing measures merriment in every of the 50 states. However WalletHub gauged happiness utilizing 30 metrics throughout three classes: bodily and emotional well-being, whose metrics included sleep adequacy and sports activities participation; group and setting, whose metrics included leisure time and very best climate; and work setting, whose metrics included job safety and median credit score rating.
Whereas Utah, 2023’s happiest state, misplaced to Hawaii this 12 months within the general rankings, it maintained its reign atop the work setting and group and setting classes. West Virginia, ranked final 12 months’s worst work setting, remained on the backside of the listing this time round.
Work setting included these metrics:
Scores for all metrics weren’t made public, however Utah notably had the fewest work hours, and tied with Alabama and North Dakota for the third-lowest long-term unemployment price.
Among the many secrets and techniques to a satisfying profession is discovering work that makes use of your distinctive abilities and creates worth for another person, based on Jo Jorgensen, PhD, a principal lecturer within the School of Behavioral, Social and Well being Sciences at Clemson College in South Carolina.
“If you do not have your dream job yet and you are watching the clock and waiting for your workday to end, keep looking for the right job,” Jorgensen stated in a information launch in regards to the rankings. “Even in prestigious careers, many individuals are simply treading water, centered on watching the calendar for the subsequent trip or promotion or pay bump. To essentially get pleasure from your life, intention for a calling.
“The difference is a focus on helping others or finding meaning in your work, rather than being focused on yourself. It is corny, but yes, if you love your work, working for your whole life can be more than just bearable—it can be rewarding.”
10 states with greatest work environments
1. Utah (identical as 2023)
2. Vermont (up from No. 10)
3. Idaho (up from No. 6)
4. Minnesota (down from No. 3)
5. Massachusetts (up from No. 16)
6. Montana (down from No. 2)
7. Nebraska (identical as 2023)
8. Rhode Island (up from No. 12)
9. New Hampshire (up from No. 19)
10. Maryland (down from No. 4)
10 states with worst work environments
50. West Virginia (identical as 2023)
49. Louisiana (identical as 2023)
48. Alaska (identical as 2023)
47. New Mexico (down from No. 45)
46. Kentucky (down from No. 41)
45. California (down from No. 34)
44. Nevada (up from No. 46)
43. Arkansas (down from No. 42)
42. New York (down from No. 39)
41. Indiana (down from No. 27)
States with most, fewest work hours
Fewest work hours
1. Utah
2. Vermont
3. Rhode Island
4. Oregon
T-5. Connecticut
T-5. Massachusetts
Most work hours
50. Alaska
T-48. Wyoming
T-48. Texas
T-45. South Dakota
T-45. Louisiana
States with highest, lowest earnings progress
Maybe unsurprisingly, cash fails to improve happiness as a lot as you would possibly assume, stated Jorgensen, who has been educating a course referred to as Pursuing Happiness for 15 years.
“After 10 minutes in a cold pool, you adjust, and it no longer feels cold. We adapt to wealth in the same way,” she stated within the information launch. “We are inclined to assume that if we simply had a barely bigger home or a nicer automotive or may go on costly holidays, then we’ll lastly ‘really be happy.’ Nevertheless it by no means ends.
“Even financially successful people with a mansion and a fleet of cars along with a 100-foot yacht often think they will ‘finally become happy’ if they could just get a 150-foot yacht. If you do not know how to appreciate what you have, having more will not change that.”
Highest earnings progress
1. Idaho
2. Arizona
3. California
4. Oregon
5. Washington
Lowest earnings progress
50. Alaska
49. Wyoming
48. North Dakota
47. Connecticut
46. Oklahoma
No. 1 Idaho’s earnings progress was triple that of No. 50 Alaska.
States with highest, lowest long-term unemployment charges
Lowest long-term unemployment charges
1. South Dakota
2. Nebraska
T-3. Alabama
T-3. North Dakota
T-3. Utah
Highest long-term unemployment charges
50. New Jersey
T-48. New York
T-48. California
47. Illinois
46. Rhode Island
No. 50 New Jersey’s long-term unemployment price was seven occasions worse than that of No. 1 South Dakota.
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