Experts from the Pacific Stone Editorial Team have identified the ten states that struggle the most to switch off after their workday, with New York ranking first.
The study awarded each state a score out of 100 based on the average weekly work hours, typical driving commute time, whether the commute was tackled alone, household income inequality, and average traffic volumes.
Switching off after work can be difficult for a variety of reasons, including a high workload, stressful work environment, or fear of job loss. Work-life balance is also a major factor, with commute times and work hours contributing to this.
New York is named as the state that struggles the most to relax after the workday, with an index score of almost 90 out of 100. This is largely due to the average weekly work hours of 40.1, along with a daily driving commute time of 33.2 minutes.
Ranking second with an overall score of 84 out of 100 is Massachusetts. The state sits just below the nationwide average working hours (39.6 per week) at 39.5, and workers commute to work for 29.4 minutes.
Third is California, which has a 63% longer commute time than the national average (24.6 minutes) at 29.20 minutes and a high 40.2 average weekly working hours.
New Jersey and Maryland rank fourth and fifth, with only a slight index score difference at 77.3 and 74.7. New Jersey employees work an average of 40.7 hours per week, while Maryland workers commute for 32 minutes.
The top ten are completed by Illinois (70.97), Florida (65.4), Georgia (65.29), Connecticut (64.94), and Virginia (64.91), respectively.
Of these final five, Florida and Georgia have the longest average working weeks at around 42 hours, whilst Illinois, Florida, Georgia, and Virginia all have an average commute time of 28 minutes.
Overall, the state with the longest commute time is New York at 33.2 minutes, with almost two-fifths (39%) of drivers facing the journey to and from work alone. The shortest commute is in South Dakota at 17.4 minutes.
The state that spends the most time at work is Louisiana at 44.3 hours per week, while the least overworked state is Alaska, spending 27.7 hours at work.
The ten states that struggle to switch off after work the most:
| Rank | State | Average Weekly Working Hours | Average Commute Time (Minutes) | Index Score (Out of 100) |
| 1 | New York | 40.1 | 33 | 89.85 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 39.5 | 29 | 84.23 |
| 3 | California | 40.2 | 29 | 79.18 |
| 4 | New Jersey | 40.7 | 31 | 77.27 |
| 5 | Maryland | 39 | 32 | 74.66 |
| 6 | Illinois | 41.3 | 28 | 70.97 |
| 7 | Florida | 42 | 28 | 65.4 |
| 8 | Georgia | 42 | 28 | 65.29 |
| 9 | Connecticut | 39.8 | 26 | 64.94 |
| 10 | Virginia | 40.9 | 28 | 64.91 |
