For decades, people have been relocating to Florida for its balmy weather. A new study on workplace burnout now suggests the sunshine in the Sunshine State may be helping keep up spirits, even in the face of rough commutes and long work weeks.
About 1 in 10 Floridians have a commute to work that is longer than an hour, and yet newly released research shows that workers in Florida are less susceptible to work place burnout than in most U.S. states.
Burnout was classified as an “occupational phenomenon” by the World Health Organization in 2019. WHO defined it as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been managed. It’s characterized by exhaustion, negative feelings related to one’s job, mental distance from one’s work and reduced professional efficacy. If you're feeling drained, sluggish and unmotivated at work, could be a sign that you're burnt out.
The health and wellness platform Nutrition and Nourishment Collective recently released a ranking of states most susceptible to workplace burnout. Out of 49 states with available data, Florida ranked 38th.
Researchers analyzed five key metrics across the United States, including weekly work hours, commute times, availability of mental health providers, work days lost due to health issues and Google search trends related to burnout symptoms.
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Amanda Bonello, a certified health coach and health writer for Nutrition NC, said Florida’s ranking was peculiar because Florida actually had the least amount of people Googling burnout.
“It was the lowest of any state in the study, which is crazy because people search about what they care about,” Bonello said.
The data shows that Florida ranked pretty poorly in other categories, but since the Google search pillar accounted for 25% of the ranking scores, it put Florida in a pretty good spot. Even still, if burnout goes unaddressed the consequences can go beyond just one person’s bad day.
“ If it's affecting the way that you are working, especially in a state that has high burnout rates, it's affecting multiple people,” Bonello said. “[It] is then felt on all of the people who are using that service too. It can truly affect the economy if you have a state that has a high burnout rate.”
Bonello said that Florida’s tropical climate might contribute to why people aren’t looking up burnout as frequently as other states with similar long work weeks, commute times and high sick day usage. For example, Florida’s neighboring state of Georgia ranked fifth with similar scores but it also had a high burnout search score.
The fact that many Floridians are of retirement age — and potentially out of the work force — could also be a contributor to Florida's low burnout score. About 1 in 5 Floridians (around 20%) are 65 or older, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
She said that although Florida seems to be doing well in some regards, there's always room for improvement. She recommends employers offer a minimum of two weeks of vacation time and maybe some half-days mixed in as well.
“ If you give a person half-a-day once a week and rotate people, it can make a difference,” she said. Burnout is usually a temporary state. When people take a healthy amount of time off as needed, it can negate any productivity lost when it’s not addressed at all.
So what's Bonello’s advice for Floridians when it comes to burnout?
“ Florida is in a really good position when it comes to weather and things to do, and I would say 'just keep it up Florida,'” she said. “ Do what you can to help make Floridians feel more comfortable because the sun can only do so much.”
