Study shows where NJ ranks in employee happiness

I try not to look at other drivers, especially at a red light. I’ve seen bar fights happen just because a simple look is misinterpreted. So, I tend not to invite the road rage.

Yet the times I have noticed other drivers, I’m amazed by the difference in people. Some look like they’re a zombie; blank, dead inside, at the end of their life’s rope. But others seem far too at peace for a Monday morning commute to their job. Happy even. Smiling, perhaps singing to a jam.

Read More: New Jersey gas tax rising to a painful 49 cents per gallon

Employee Happiness

A study was done by Event Display ranking states according to employee happiness. Certainly, some companies can treat their workers in a way that tends to make for a happier workforce. I don’t know what their secret is, but I swear I never see a miserable-looking worker at ShopRite.

But can there be differences in employee happiness between entire states?

The study used indicators of employee happiness such as quit rates, average yearly earnings, paid time off, commute time, etcetera. Then they arrived at an overall employee happiness score to compare.

The difference was dramatic. According to a press release on this study, the state with the happiest employees had a score of 76.73, versus the state with the least happy employees having a score of only 30.35.

The least happy state for workers was West Virginia, followed by Louisiana and Wyoming.

The states where workers are potentially the happiest are Massachusetts at number one, followed by Connecticut and New York.

Where New Jersey Ranks

So what would your guess be for where New Jersey ranks? What are those commuter faces conveying to you on Monday mornings?

Turns out New Jersey is the fifth-happiest state for employees. Our score was 72.09.

I’m a little surprised since we have the third-longest commute in the nation, and only 11 states work more hours per week than we do. However, no state has more paid time off than New Jersey. Several states have as much, but none have more. And 37 states have a higher rate of people quitting their jobs than we do in Jersey. So it’s a mixed bag.

Hopefully, you’re among the people smiling on their drive in.