Health experts have ranked the seven most – and least – stressful jobs during Stress Awareness Month (April).
April is Stress Awareness Month, but for some people, reducing the causes of stress is extremely difficult, as it comes with their job. While some careers are more stressful than others, new research from London Medical Laboratory revealed that they are not always the ones you expect. Its latest study found that some of the most stressful jobs are ones you least expect.
The most stressful jobs include:
1. Welfare professionals
2. Customer services
3. Legal professionals
4. Teachers
5. Librarians
6. Recruitment consultants
7. GPs and health professionals
The least stressful jobs, include:
1. Hair stylists
2. Dental technicians
3. Jewellers
4. Systems software designers
5. Landscapers
6. Bloggers
7. HR Managers
WORK-RELATED STRESS
“Chronic long-term stress can lead to high blood pressure, which increases the risk of a heart attack and stroke,” stated Dr Quinton Fivelman, Chief Scientific Officer at London Medical Laboratory. “Some jobs are just inherently stressful, but for many people it’s how they deal with potentially taxing situations that is most important. “Some people seem to thrive on adrenaline, whereas others suffer work-related stress from jobs that appear relatively undemanding. Likewise, some jobs that people find most enjoyable are ones that other people might imagine are nerve-wracking.”
London Medical Laboratory’s latest research looked at what people told them about their work-related stress levels. Using data from its Heart Health Profile blood test, their feedback was then combined with the incidence of heart problems and mental health research in different professions. From this information, it was able to compile a list of the seven most demanding and seven least demanding jobs (excluding roles in the armed services and emergency services).
MOST STRESSFUL JOBS
Welfare professionals: Some of the careers we might think of as a “calling”’ or vocation can still be stressful and lead to anxiety and depression. That’s the case for welfare professionals. “Jobs such as social workers often attract people who care about others, but welfare careers also have their downsides, including high levels of bureaucracy and having to make difficult decisions about complex situations,” highlighted Dr Fivelman.
Customer services: Whether they are public facing or on the phone, customer service workers report high levels of stress, stemming from the nature of the work and the pressure to achieve targets and deal with angry customers. “These jobs are often poorly paid as well, considering the levels of stress they can create,” noted the research.
Legal professionals: Professionals such as lawyers face a long period of training, demanding work and irregular hours. Additionally, not all types of legal work pay as much as people assume. “Lawyers have one of the highest suicide rates of any UK profession,” according to the research.
Teachers: Teaching, like welfare work, is often a vocation. However, the reality of the job can be very different from what people entering the profession envisaged. “Preparation and marking time, dealing with parents and pressure to improve students’ grades cause a significant number of teachers to burn out every year. Not to mention dealing with unruly students too,” cited Dr Fivelman.
STRESSFUL ROLES
Librarians: “The appearance of librarians on our most stressful job list surprised us the most, but it shouldn’t have,” commented Dr Fivelman. “It’s a very public facing role, which is significantly under-resourced. The people attracted to the profession are not prepared for the demands it makes on them. One in three librarians reported acute workplace stress and absences, the highest of any career we looked at.”
Recruitment consultancy: Helping people find these stressful jobs is stressful in itself. “Recruitment is another of those public facing, initially poorly paid, careers that sets strict targets that can seem overwhelming,” added Dr Fivelman.
GPs and health professionals: The researchers thought doctors and health workers might appear higher up our list, even though it excludes those medics who work in emergency services. “While some GPs feel supported, the demanding nature of the job, level of responsibility and long hours mean, globally, doctors have the highest suicide rate of all professionals,” highlighted Dr Fivelman. “The immense and difficult work our healthcare workers provided during the pandemic has highlighted the highly stressful nature of this work.”
LEAST STRESSFUL JOBS
On the other side of the coin, the list of least stressful jobs also surprised the experts. “Considering the deadline-driven world of hi-tech, we were surprised that so few software designers and, indeed, IT workers in general, reported symptoms of stress,” noted Dr Fivelman. “Likewise, the competitive and results-driven world of blogging would seem to be a hectic career. Bloggers, however, work from home and are generally their own boss, and it can be lucrative work for the most successful.”
Dealing with the impact of Covid and economic downturns might lead you to think that working in human resources would be a very demanding job. “But HR managers reported lower levels of work-related stress and tested lower for heart-related problems than most other professionals,” confirmed Dr Fivelman.
WORKPLACE CULTURE
The culture of a company can create as much stress as the job itself, noted the researchers. “A toxic working environment can mean many seemingly undemanding jobs can become very stressful. Working in a hair salon might be highly stressful if the owner is unpleasant or there are several difficult clients,” added Dr Fivelman. “Likewise, many welfare professionals find their work rewarding and fulfilling. It’s often how a person deals with stress, as much as the work itself, that is important. Someone who cannot deal with the stress of their non-working home life can often bring their stress to their workplace environment; which can have an impact on themselves and work colleagues.:
Stress can also impact on the heart because of the ways we try to cope with it. “Smoking, overeating and lack of physical activity can all increase our risk of cardiovascular disease,” explained Dr Fivelman. “A heart health profile blood test will reveal cholesterol levels, and check for diabetes and inflammation. It measures biomarkers such as triglyceride, a body fat particularly associated with heart disease, and inflammation-related C-reactive protein (CRP). A high level of CRP in the blood has been linked to an increased risk of heart attack.”
For more information on London Medical Laboratory’s Heart Health Profile blood test kits click here.
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