Per Austin American Statesmen; "Austin is one of the most overworked cities in the country, a new study shows. "

Austin, TX is one of the most overworked cities in the country, a new study shows. Here’s why

Story by Ryan Maxin, Austin American-Statesman •9.25.2023

Take a breather, Austinites, because you live in one of the most overworked cities in the U.S.

FinanceBuzz, a financial planning and analyst website, recently ranked Austin the third most overworked city in the country, slightly behind first-place Washington, D.C., and second-place Denver, Colorado. 

A high percentage of households in Austin contain more than one person working a full-time job, according to FinanceBuzz, and the city averages a slightly higher amount of hours worked than the nation’s capital. 

To inform its ranking, FinanceBuzz examined seven major factors across the country’s 50 most populous cities:

• Average number of hours worked per week
• Average commute time
• Percentage of households with two or more people working
• Percentage of workers who work 50 or more weeks per year
• Percentage of active workers who are ages 65 or older
• Percentage of workers in each city’s state who have two or more jobs
• Percentage of workers with a side hustle

FinanceBuzz found 63.4% of Austinites worked more than 50 weeks per year, and 4.5% worked two jobs. 

Dallas ranked fifth on the list, claiming one of the longest commute times among the top 10 cities — nearly half an hour — and one of the highest percentages of workers over 65. FinanceBuzz warned those factors can lead to burnout. 

What are the top 10 most overworked cities in the U.S.?

1. Washington, D.C.
2. Denver, Colorado
3. Austin, Texas
4. Minneapolis, Minnesota
5. Dallas, Texas
6. Boston, Massachusetts
7. Salt Lake City, Utah
8. Kansas City, Missouri
9. Indianapolis, Indiana
10. Baltimore, Maryland

What is burnout, and how to identify it

The World Health Organization defines burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” 

The WHO definition rested in great part on research done by Christina Maslach, a professor emerita of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, who developed a way of measuring burnout and wrote a forthcoming book on the topic. 

Maslach said there are three main indicators of burnout: Complete exhaustion, cynicism and disconnection with respect to your job, and feeling doubtful about your own competency. People experiencing burnout become less productive and the quality of their work begins to dip. 

Reporting from USA TODAY Reporter Sara Chernikoff contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin is one of the most overworked cities in the country, a new study shows. Here’s why