The term “work-life balance” has taken on a whole lot more significance in a post-COVID world, with employees longing to reconnect with their friends and family while employers long for a return to pre-2020 normalcy.
In states like Kentucky, it seems like that balance between one’s 9-to-5 occupation and whatever they do outside of work hours is more blurred than most, as the Bluegrass State ranked as one of the most overworked locales in America.
July 5 is National Workaholics Day. To see what states could use a break from work, BetKentucky.com pulled double duty by working on Kentucky sports betting coverage while digging into Google Trends to see where states rank for workaholic-related keywords and phrases. We ranked the states based on total search interest scores for the following keywords, “focus hacks,” “How to be more productive,” and “Prioritization techniques.” The search period was between June 26, 2004 – June 26, 2024.
Top 10 Workaholic States
Rank | State | Total Search Interest Score |
1 | North Carolina | 256 |
2 | Missouri | 195 |
3 | Oklahoma | 189 |
4 | Georgia | 178 |
5 | Kentucky | 174 |
6 | Florida | 172 |
7 | Wisconsin | 171 |
8 | Minnesota | 164 |
9 | Delaware | 100 |
10 | Maryland | 85 |
Where Kentucky Ranks Nationally
Across the country, only four states had a higher search interest total than Kentucky did when it came to topics surrounding work, with the Bluegrass State finishing up with a search interest score of 174, directly behind Georgia’s total of 178.
Nationally, North Carolina (256 search interest score), Missouri (195 search interest score) and Oklahoma (189 search interest score) were the states with the highest workaholic search interest scores.
Conversely, Kentucky finished ahead of less workaholic states like Florida (172 search interest score), Wisconsin (171 search interest score) and Minnesota (164 search interest score).
Rounding out the most overworked states in America for the year were Mid-Atlantic locales, Delaware (100 search interest score) and Maryland (85 search interest score), illustrating just how out-of-balance the eastern half of the country is when it comes to work-life balance or lack thereof.
Take a much-needed break from work to use BetKentucky's best Kentucky sportsbook promos before you place your next wager.
Author
Christopher Boan is a staff writer for BetKentucky.com. He has covered sports and sports betting for more than seven years and has worked for publications such as ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
