Most Stressful Occupations
Do you feel stressed in your job? Well, with the number of sick days taken as a result of work-related stress across Britain accounting for almost half of the overall total, it may be comforting to know that you are by no means alone. Whilst it may seem obvious that people working as firemen, airline pilots and in social work jobs are under a lot of pressure and stress, it is somewhat surprising to hear how other seemingly less intense professions put a significant amount of pressure on their employees. With this in mind, we have attempted to identify the most stressful occupations, uncover some of the reasons why and offer advice about how employees can better deal with stress at work.
Most Stressful Occupations
For many people, considering the most stressful occupations would recall business chief executives, government officials or emergency workers. Recent studies have suggested however, that cases of work related stress are actually most common in public sector industries like welfare, healthcare and in particular, education. Other occupations that are frequently found to have employees with high stress levels include the legal professions, and business, research and administrative roles. Within these professions, the reasons most often cited as attributing to a stressful working environment are; high workload, tight deadlines, too much pressure or responsibility, a lack of managerial support, organisational changes, violence and role uncertainty. As public-sector institutions, they can also be subject to higher pressures such as governmental budget changes which get filtered down to managers and employees. Whilst it is difficult to respond to such decisions, there are practical techniques that employees can utilise to better prepare themselves for stress and pressure at work.
How to Handle Stress at Work
For people working in these professions, the following techniques may help to identify and alleviate added stress and pressure:
- Work out priorities – Make a list of achievable tasks and prioritise them in order of importance. Cross them off as you complete them, and make sure you include relationships that are important to you as these can often be neglected due to work which will only increase stress.
- Identify stressful situations – Make a list of things that leave you feeling drained and include ways to address this. This way when they occur you will be better prepared and able to practice stress-reduction techniques.
- Think about your capabilities before committing to help someone – Often people accept tasks to please others without considering whether they are able to complete it, this can only increase stress for you and disappoint your colleagues.
- Don’t dwell on mistakes – Feelings of regret cannot change the past but they can affect your mood in the present. Make an effort to employ stress-reduction techniques when you begin to dwell on past mistakes.