50% of Los Angeles, Orange County office workers say they’re severely burnt out — worst in U.S.

The high cost of living and long commutes seem to be taking a somewhat hidden toll on local worker bees.

Office workers from Los Angeles and Orange counties are the nation’s most “burnt out” with half admitting they’re severely burnt out, according to a new study. The Robert Half temp agency surveyed the white-collar crowd in 28 major metropolitan areas with a simple question that weighed the worker’s level of burnout: from 10 for total burnout to 1 for no burnout.

I filled my trusty spreadsheet with the results and found chilling trends. Looking at the share of respondents who scored their burnout 10, 9 or 8 — let’s call them “severely burnt out” employees — 50% of L.A.-O.C. fit that classification. Yes, local bosses: Half your staff is crispy fried!

That’s nearly double the national share of 28% of workers in this desperate condition. And sadly, L.A.-O.C. ranked No. 1 on this scale of shame.

Next worse was Detroit at 44%, then Chicago at 37%, Phoenix at 35% and New York at 34%. The fewest crispy-fried employees were found in Minneapolis at 15%, Indianapolis at 18% and Pittsburgh at 20%.

Yes, this is simply one survey. But it raises what should be a serious warning for the folks in charge: Why at a time with historically low unemployment in a state known for pro-worker laws — yes, some call them “anti-business” — is the staff so checked out?

Cyndi Karapogosian, a district president for Robert Half, admits that many bosses are not keeping up with an evolving workplace.

“Employers have to be critically aware of burnout in their teams,” she says. “Many employers have historical thoughts on how to hire and retain workers. But the reality has definitely changed.”

It’s not just L.A.-O.C. Other California regions had slightly above-average levels of high burnout: Sacramento at 32%, San Diego at 31% and San Francisco at 29%.

The survey found the top local concern was “career stagnation/no room for growth” cited by 29% of the survey takers. Next was “constant interruptions/fires to put out,” cited by 21% of respondents, then “unmanageable workload/long hours” (17%) and “toxic culture” (7%).

My hunch is the mental cost of the state’s high cost of living and torturous commutes is in this mix in not-so-obvious ways.

For example, locals may be sticking at a job longer they historically would because it offers “flexibility” in work schedules. That may help a household’s financial and time-management challenges at home. But flexibility often makes for longer work times. So the “cure” may not keep a worker energized when they’re on the clock, so to speak.

Plus, despite all the chatter about a regional “exodus” of population, California residents are among the nation’s least likely to move. That residential stability may lower turnover, but it also cuts the opportunity for moving up the ladder. That may be translating to staleness at work.

Also, let’s be honest: In many industries, bosses don’t staff up as they used to for various reasons ranging from profit desires to competitive pressures to a notable shortage of qualified workers. Oppressive workloads — you know, putting out fires — are a key ingredient in the employee burnout recipe even if numerous bosses (not all) are finally handing out significant raises.

To be fair, local policymakers are not blameless: The relative status quo for housing creation and the inability to dramatically change the congestion paradigm makes life overall challenging.

By Robert Half’s math, L.A.-O.C.’s composite burnout score was 6.61 out of 10, well above the nation’s 5.6 grade. Next worse on this yardstick of a noteworthy labor-force challenge was Detroit at 6.51; then Phoenix at 6.17; Sacramento at 6.11; and Denver at 6. And other California cities didn’t fare that much better: San Diego was seventh-worst and San Francisco was 11th-worst.

By the way, the most energized workers were found in towns known for low housing costs: Tampa and Pittsburgh, with 4.8 composite scores, then came Indianapolis at 4.99.

The only measurement I could find where L.A.-O.C. wasn’t worst was for what I’ll dub “chill workers” — those who scored their burnout at the low-end: 1, 2 or 3. And the SoCal score wasn’t much to brag about: Just 22% of local workers were “chill,” tied for fifth-worst with Sacramento. (San Diego was at a mid-range 25% while San Francisco was eighth-best at 30%, probably reflecting the city’s throngs in high-paying technology jobs.)

The fewest chill workers were found in Detroit at 17%; Miami at 18%; then Chicago and Cincinnati at 21%. Most chill? Look to Pittsburgh at 45%; then Tampa at 38%; Boston and Washington, DC at 35%; and Charlotte at 32%.

Is the laid-back SoCal vibe gone? Burnout may just be another price of what can at times be seen as paradise.