North Dakota ranked hardest working state in U.S.

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — A 2021 study from WalletHub finds North Dakota is the hardest working state in the nation.

The study determined six direct work factors like average workweek hours and the employment rate as well as four indirect factors including commute time and average leisure time spent per day.

Using a points system, a score closer to 100 means people in the state work harder. North Dakota scored just under 68. Alaska came in second place.

The President of the North Dakota AFL-CIO says the cost of living isn’t as low as people think leading to people looking elsewhere for extra cash.

“Six day weeks are normal for a lot of people in North Dakota. They also talk about people that are working two jobs. I believe it’s like eight to nine percent. I think the actual number for that is a lot higher because there’s many people that have side hustles besides their regular job,” Landis Larson said.

Larson says many people may not feel respected when it comes to taking personal time off.

With the idea of quiet quitting on the rise, Larson adds a poor work environment and a stressed out employee can lead to it.

“That term is probably used because the employers get the respect that they give. When it comes to quitting a job, people are probably more inclined to give notice and let people know when they have the respect given to them, they wanna give it back to their employer,” Larson said.

He says it makes the situation worse for employees with kids struggling to find a work-life balance.

“A lot of people found out through the pandemic the cost of childcare which is almost the cost of tuition at one of the state universities. And what they were actually making at work was probably pretty close to being a wash. A lot of people now are staying home and taking a hit on their pay because they don’t have to spend all that money. And they’re spending time with their family. It exacerbates what we were talking about with the workforce shortage,” Larson said.

Rounding out the top five behind North Dakota are Alaska, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas.

Click here to see more of WalletHub’s information.