WalletHub comes out with interesting and occasionally tantalizing polls about all sorts of things. Two weeks ago, it announced its pandemic-related “Best States for Working from Home” list and guess what? Hawai`i ranked #50, just ahead of Alaska. Washington, D.C., was also on the list. Boy, how fun it must have been working in D.C. this past year!
The criteria included various components labeled under “work environment” and “living environment”. Metrics were weighted, and apparently hallucinogens were also included in the formula, because it’s hard to fathom that a year of quarantining and Zooming here was worse than in 48 other states (and D.C.). Certain WalletHub puzzle pieces make sense- our lack of quality internet access in too many places, high electrical and internet costs, small home square footage- but the metrics also included a category for homes with swimming pools, which must’ve useless during Northern U.S. winters, unless they were indoors. Wait, pools really matter when analyzing suitable work environments?
The number of persons per household metric surely dinged us due to our three or four generation reality, but c’mon… at the end of the day, and I really do mean at the end of the day, would you rather finish your sixth Zoom/zombie call du jour at 5:30pm, look up, and realize you’re still in Arkansas, Mississippi, or Delaware (the three states ranked just above Hawai`i)? Hard to buy these metrics.
Hawai`i ranked dead last (51st) in “living environment”, yet we are #1 in longevity (see March 24 “Think About It”). 54% of those currently working from home would like to continue working there after the pandemic ends. Depending on the quality and productivity of their work, some anxious employers may just give certain employees that option, as ex-employees.
The concept of myriad workers frantically piling into their respective vehicles to fight traffic every day is now history. 71% of people who say they could work from home most or all of the time have done so during the pandemic. Does anyone really expect that they’ll all go back to a daily, rote office rat race come 2022?
Yes, we have high costs and crowded quarters here, but Hawai’i– the 2nd worst state to have quarantined in and worked from home? So people will continue to visit, but surely opt not to live here? Hmmm. Maybe 50th place isn’t such a bad thing.
Think about it…