Massachusetts: One Of The Best States For Working From Home

Many businesses embraced working from home during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and plenty of workplaces have kept this structure in place. Forbes reported that as of 2023, 12.7% of full-time employees work from home, while 28.2% work a hybrid model. The hybrid model combines both home and in-office working, offering flexibility and maintaining a level of physical presence at the workplace. According to Upwork, by 2025, an estimated 32.6 million Americans will be working remotely, which equates to about 22% of the workforce.

While many businesses have adopted remote work arrangements, not everyone who gets to do it always has the best environment for doing so. "The best work-from-home conditions include low costs, reasonable comfort, a high level of security, and a lack of distractions," said WalletHub, a personal finance company.

The personal finance company ranked the best states for working from home. To identify the states that provide the best conditions for working from home, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics. Their data set ranges from the share of workers working from home to internet cost and cybersecurity. They also considered factors like how large and how crowded homes are in each state.

"Working from home can save people a lot of money on transportation expenses, as well as make their work environment a lot more comfortable and their hours more flexible," said Cassandra Happe, a WalletHub analyst. "However, things like energy costs, internet speed, home sizes and how many people live together can greatly impact people’s savings and productivity. While work-from-home jobs can be done anywhere, certain states make the practice much better than others," she continued.

Massachusetts snagged a spot in the top 10 at number 9. Overall, the state scored high in the work and living environment categories. This includes the households' internet access and strong cybersecurity. The ranking also revealed that Massachusetts has low internet costs. However, the ranking pointed out that the state has one of the highest average retail prices for electricity.

New Jersey is the best state for working from home, with some of the lowest internet prices in the country and very high access to broadband internet, according to the ranking. Residents also are above average at staying safe when it comes to cybersecurity, so they’re less likely to have their work compromised. The ranking also points out that Around 13% of New Jersey’s workforce currently works from home, but over 96% of the workforce has the potential to telecommute, meaning that their jobs could be conducted remotely.

Following New Jersey is Utah. It has some of the lowest electricity prices in the country, which plays a big part in minimizing the cost of staying home all day the ranking highlights. Utah also has reasonable internet costs and the sixth-highest share of households with broadband internet.

Wrapping up the top three is Delaware. It’s the third-best state for working from home, with over 11% of the workforce currently doing so and nearly 97% having the potential to. Delaware has the third-lowest internet cost in the U.S. and the 8th highest broadband internet access.

Take a look at the complete ranking here.

We send and receive a lot of emails throughout our lifetime, mainly while at work. How many times have you wondered about the best way to respond to a work email? In general, emails tend to have their own language or dialect. Sometimes there’s an underlying tone behind the professional jargon of your email. Like any other form of communication, the language of email has unwritten rules that change over time.

Most people don’t think about their email closing lines or what kind of vibe they may give off. According to Preply, nearly half (46%) of people say they can tell a coworker’s mood based on their greetings and sign-offs. Meanwhile, only 37% of people admitted to tweaking their own closing lines to show frustration. They also mentioned that younger workers may more often express their feelings through email.

Looking closer at the study’s data on salutations, they mention corporate communication "faux pas." Sixty-five percent of people want everyone to do away with using "sent from my phone, please excuse typos." The results also show that Forty-two percent say emojis are never appropriate, while more than 50% think they are "sometimes okay."

The most common sign-offs shown in the study include "thank you," "thanks," just your name, and "sincerely." The surveyors considered those to be the "most uptight" sign-offs. When it comes to the "most savage" sign-offs or worst ways to end an email they found these phrases to be the worst ways to do it.

If you want to end a work email in the best way possible, the study found has some helpful tips. You may want to use phrases like “thanks,” “talk soon,” and “take care.”

The full study can be found here.

These are some of the worst ways to end work emails.