South Jordan can now add top Zoom town to its list of accolades as it ranked first above 25 other Zoom towns in the United States based on nine metrics related to population characteristics, cost of living and Internet and electricity reliability. 

The study was conducted by Smart Asset, a financial technology company that uses data to provide free, automated and actionable advice on big financial decisions.

A Zoom town, by definition, is a community that is growing due to increased remote work opportunities. The study analyzed cities with “a population of 65,000 or more” and used data from the Census Bureau from the years 2019, 2021 and 2022. The top three Zoom town cities were: 1) South Jordan, Utah 2) Eagan, Minnesota and 3) Arlington Heights, Illinois. Also on the list from Utah were Salt Lake City at number 15 and Sandy at number 18.

“We are proud to be named the first ever Best Zoom Town in America by Smart Asset,” Mayor Dawn Ramsey said. “This award demonstrates what we know to be true, that South Jordan is an amazing place to live, work and play.”

More control

Prior to the pandemic, Daybreak resident Maribeth Jones worked in sales at Adobe. She would make the daily commute to her office in Lehi every day. Once the pandemic hit, she said they were all sent home.

“I thought I was going to be miserable and I was going to hate it,” Jones said. “I ended up liking it, I had more control over my day.”

According to a “Time Magazine” article by Barrreo, Bloom and Davis, “Employees save, on average, 65 minutes a day in commuting and personal grooming time when working from home. People also appreciate the flexibility and greater personal autonomy that comes with working from home.”

Jones, who began working a hybrid approach most of the year 2022 with Adobe, started a new job selling software for Canto, a digital asset management system that is 100% remote.

“I was nervous about taking full-time remote just because I am an extrovert and I love getting to know my coworkers and hanging out with them,” Jones said. 

After finding out she was expecting in December of 2022, she admitted that the idea of working remotely full-time was the best way for her to have control over her schedule while still working a job she loves.

The Smart Asset study reported that South Jordan has approximately 80,000 residents and that “roughly 29% of workers do so remotely, up 19 percentage points between 2019 and 2021.”

With South Jordan being a manageable driving distance from Silicon Slopes, the nickname given to the region of Lehi where a large majority of businesses is comprised of technology start-ups, Jones said that it is nice for some employees to have the option to go back into the office.

The new normal

In a research study published in October 2022 by Aksoy, et al, titled “Working from Home Around the World,” the authors noted the following:

“The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a huge, sudden uptake in working from home as individuals and organizations responded to contagion fears and government restrictions on commercial and social activities. No other episode in modern history involves such a pronounced and widespread shift in working arrangements in such a compressed time frame.”

For software engineer Shane Barnwell, the time frame was one week. Prior to the pandemic, Barnwell traveled from Herriman to the Mountain America Credit Union corporate office in Sandy 99.9% of the time, with the occasional work from home opportunity. He said that once the CDC placed everyone under quarantine guidelines starting around March 12, 2020, his work went remote within one week.

“I think the pandemic was the trigger that started the remote work movement,” Barnwell said. “It gave [leadership and management] more insight into how well people can still work remote.”

The “Time Magazine” article reported that companies or firms can be winners in that “well designed remote-work practices raise productivity.”

According to Barnwell, for his position, working remotely is the new normal.

What does it take to work from home?

While the data shows that more and more people within certain industries have found success in working remotely and that they will likely continue to do so, there are certain characteristics that can be helpful.

“You do have to have a lot of self-motivation,” Jones said. “Sales is a great place for me, I’m very competitive.”

Along with self-motivation comes knowing when to walk away when work is done.

“Separating your work life from your home life is one of the biggest things you have to know how to do to be successful in remote work,” Barnwell said.

While working from home can more easily be done in your pajamas or your favorite pair of sweatpants, Mindi Gates said there is still some mental preparation that is needed.

Gates, who has worked as a systems analyst for EOI Service out of California since September 2022, has very much enjoyed working remotely. She said that although some just roll out of bed a few minutes prior to starting their workday, she feels she is more successful when she is more prepared.

“For me, I have to get up early and get dressed and get ready for my work,” Gates said. 

Gates has lived in her home in West Jordan for 12 years and said that she now has a home office, which has helped her to go into a mental and physical space that is specific to her work.

“I can shut the door if I’m in a meeting,” Gates said. “And when I’m done with work, I can leave my office and it’s like I’m going home.”

To read the full report by Smart Asset visit https://smartasset.com/data-studies/best-zoom-towns-in-the-u-s-2023  

To read the “Time Magazine” article visit https://time.com/6243148/working-from-home-is-the-trend-of-the-year-and-next-year-too/

To read the research study visit https://wfhresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Working-from-Home-Around-the-World-16-October-202...