17 Most Stressful Jobs In The World: No-Nonsense

Over the time, stress has become an integral part of our lives. And how stress bound we are depends on the lifestyle and the kind of job we are in. Nowadays, a job without stress is like a pie-in-the-sky. Stress is like an unwelcomed yet inseparable part of every job.

However, the level of stress involved in a particular profession varies depending on factors like the amount of risk involved in one’s life, public exposure, perilous work conditions, number of working hours, scorching deadlines, and travel. All these collectively make some jobs the most stressful jobs in the world.

Careercast, a premier career site, conducts annual surveys regarding various job issues. Under one of its surveys, most stressful jobs in the world, it enlists top 10 stressful jobs of a particular year. Though the participating audience is US based, the jobs indeed are very stressful from the perspective of the whole world.

As per its survey, the following are the most stressful jobs of 2016 with their stress scores.

Various factors are leading to job stress among the individuals. Careercast formed the above chronology on the basis of 11 factors like travel, deadlines, working in the public eye, competitiveness, physical demands, environmental conditions, hazards encountered, life of oneself or others at risk, and the potential for job growth.

Apart from the above job stress factors, there are a few other factors that increase the stress at workplace and they are:

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Depending on the factors mentioned above, we have prepared the following list of the most stressful jobs in the world. Though some of them are high paying, and some are underrated, the level of stress is considerably elevated in all of them. Here’s the list:

1. Military Personnel
2. Firefighters
3. Police Officer
4. Commercial Pilot
5. Doctors/Medical Professionals
6. Newspaper Reporter
7. Nurse
8. Teacher
9. Chief Executive Officer
10. Event Coordinator
11. Public Relation Specialist
12. Broadcaster
13. Actor
14. Social Worker
15. Taxi Drivers
16. Miners
17. Flight Attendants

Given below are the details pertaining these professions:

• Military Personnel

Median Salary: $ 39,297 per annum

It is one of the most prestigious as well as arduous jobs around the world. The level of stress and threat to ones’ life involved surpasses almost all other jobs.  Though military personnel have excellent job benefits, stress, dangerous job environment, and pain of separation from loved ones make it strenuous, both physically and mentally.

In fact, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), within few months of being home, is commonly evident among the military personnel.

• Firefighters

Median Salary: $ 44,078 per annum

“Firefighters are crucial to our public safety, putting out fires and pulling people from burning cars, buildings, and other dangerous situations,” says Kyle Kensing, Online Content Editor, Careercast.

Firefighters, too, perform a back-breaking task on a routine basis. Unlike others, they are the ones’ who jump into fire and rescue people while their life is at stake. In spite of the high level of risk and long working hours, remuneration paid to them is unsatisfactory. Moreover, they are bound to live with the truth that no matter how hard they try, they cannot save everything or everyone.

• Police Officer

Median Salary: $ 45,195 per annum

Police officers never really know what they will be dealing with on a particular shift. It can be anything from resolving domestic disputes to speedy chasings and shootouts. This profession is all about putting life on the line every time a call comes in. Dodgy work conditions, relentless work timings, physical challenges, and dealings with the impatient public, it’s all on the table for a police officer. Also, the immense pressure of timely resolving the cases in hand makes this job exceedingly challenging.

• Commercial Pilot

Median Salary: $ 63,738 per annum

For a pilot it’s all about, fly high or die – taking along a lot of other people. Responsibility for others’ life, frequent traveling, and sitting for long stretches makes this job exhausting, both mentally and physically. A pilot though paid high, works in acute pressure. Every time they are seen traveling from one destination to another, sometimes without breaks.

Many job-survey portals have asserted this profession stressful regarding responsibility, long sitting hours and extensive traveling.

• Doctors/Medical Professionals

Median Salary: $ 130,000 – $ 250,000 per annum (approx.)

Doctors are often regarded as God, for they save lives or rather give people another life. Peoples’ faith and responsibility on these professionals keep them under constant stress.  They work rigorously and persistently to justify their job.

Even a minor negligence on their part can have an adverse effect on patients’ health. Consequently, surgeons have to work with precision, psychiatrists need to listen earnestly, and dentists are on their feet for hours. Patience, accuracy, and ability to handle round-the-clock pressure are the pre-requisites of this profession.

• Newspaper Reporter

Median Salary: $ 38,907 per annum

“The news business has changed drastically over the years, and not in a good way. When people ask me if I miss it, I tell them ‘I feel as if I jumped off of a sinking ship’,” said former Broadcaster Ann Baldwin, president of Baldwin Media PR in New Britain, Connecticut.

Often seen as a glamorous profession, the job of a newspaper reporter isn’t a piece of cake. Deadlines, irregular work timings, competition, and persistent toiling for survival in the internet era keeps a reporter always on his/her toes. It has consistently been reported as the worst job for three consecutive years (including 2016). Though not as dangerous as military personnel and firefighters, this job does involve a fair amount of risk. Reporters are often killed while covering news in precarious situations. As per a report, 61 reporters were killed in 2014 while on the job.

• Nurse

Median Salary:  $ 58,371 per annum

There is no denial that doctors are life saviours, but even they get handicapped without a nurse. Be it a patient or a doctor, both can’t do without a nurse. They are the ones who keep a check on patients’ routine and report doctors about varied issues.

Therefore, lots of multi-tasking, patient care, empathizing patient’s family, and long working hours make their work onerous. A nurse works under immense pressure because of the level of responsibility mounted on her head.

• Teacher

Median Salary:  $ 41,000 – $ 44,000 (approx.) per annum

Enlisting this profession here might look ironical. Teachers are believed to have good working schedules, but this isn’t the truth. Long stay backs, pressure of syllabus completion, lesson plan preparation, checking work, record maintenance, and taking work home are what make their routine.

Teachers are under constant scrutiny of authorities, colleagues, and parents. Still, their pay cheques do not comply with their hard work and educational requirements. A report by The Guardian draws attention towards increased health issues among teachers due to stress.

• Chief Executive Officer

Median Salary: $159,891 per annum

A report by CNN suggests that being a CEO should come with a health warning. The tests states, CEOs’ usually go through the emotions like frustration, anxiety, disappointment, and irritation most times in a day.  A CEO deals with a lot more than delegating a task. They regularly deal with cutthroat competition, long working hours, and making decisions which can either make or break the business. Often, high level of anxiety is observed among the CEOs, which adversely affects their decision-making and judgment power.

• Event Coordinator

Median Salary: $ 38,491 per annum

Meeting deadlines, interacting with the people, and keeping sync with several events at a time ranked this profession fifth in the list of career cast report-2016. Working under high pressure and public exposure are some of the stress-contributors in this profession.

Also, high expectation and timely completion of task elevate stress levels among these professionals. Therefore, this job is challenging regarding responsibility, public interactions, frequent travelling, and deadlines.

• Public Relation Specialist

Median Salary: $ 45,270 per annum

A public relation specialist (PR) is responsible for managing and promoting the public’s view of a person, product, service, and organization. They deal with meeting public-related goals through a selected mode of communication. A PR has to be thick skinned, as interacting with different people is a part & parcel of his/her profession. Public Scrutiny, long working hours, tight deadlines, and high expectations of the client are the stress contributors of this job.

• Broadcaster

Median Salary: Television Broadcaster – $ 64,000 (approx..) per annum

Radio Broadcaster – $ 35,061 per annum

According to Cambridge Dictionary,

“A Broadcaster is someone whose job is to speak on radio or television programmes.”

While stating the stress factors, Career cast mentioned public exposure as one among the 11 stress inducing factors. Therefore, public exposure is what ranks’ Broadcaster at number 8 in the list of most stressful jobs of 2016. And for sure, there is no proof needed to explain the level of public interaction involved in this profession. Speaking on T.V. or radio brings a lot of stress and nervousness as a significant number of people have their eyes on you.

• Actor

Median Salary: $ 48,237 per annum

The glamour of this field couldn’t keep it away from the eyes of stress monster. In fact, higher the glamour, higher is the level of stress. It is the most stressful job of the times. Indeed, an actor enjoys public attention and huge fan following, but this is also a cause for stress among them.

Public image, long & odd work timings, extortionate competition, travelling, and working in extreme weather conditions are what make this profession strenuous and exhausting. Actors are often under constant stress due to little job security.

Moreover, time, opportunity, and salary regarding next project are always uncertain. There is no work consistency in this profession.

• Social Worker

Median Salary:  $ 35000 – $ 75000 (approx.) per annum

Social workers are the people helping individuals and communities to enhance their life. They deal with social issues prevalent in society. They work for protracting period of stress which often causes physical and psychological ailments among them. They are bound to work in emotionally vulnerable circumstances which aggravate their plight.

A report of Community Care Survey states that social workers often take the support of alcohol or anti-depressant pills to cope with stress and anxiety. Therefore, the capability to deal with burnouts and self-care is a must for a social worker, suggests SaraKay Smullens, a clinical social worker.

• Taxi Drivers

Median Salary: $ 24,820 per annum

Careercast ranked taxi drivers as the 10^th most stressful job this year (2016). People found it to be highly exacting as per the parameters enlisted by career cast. Taxi drivers work for long hours without much (bodily) movement which leads to health issues like a back problem, etc.

Dealing with ruthless customers and traffic makes this job a lot more taxing. Traffic drivers are under constant threat of any assault and injury as they are never aware of who is getting in their taxi. So, the risk to ones’ life, prolonged working hours, and health issues due to lack of body motions and pollution makes it an enervating profession.

• Miners

Median Salary: $ 57, 931

Miners face the perils of death on a daily basis. They go deep under the earth for coal, metals, and other minerals. They stay deprived of fresh air and sunlight for long hours. Low wages and lack of adequate security measures in developing and under-developed countries, further depicts the peculiarity of their life.

History delineates that how negligence and inadequate safety measures resulted in numerous fatal mining accidents. Miners work under constant fear of death and other severe adversities.

• Flight Attendants

Median Salary: $ 36, 851

Flight attendants are the members of an aircrew deployed for the safety and help of passengers on the flight. They are on toes to ensure that passengers have a comfortable flight. Long working hours, improper breaks, nagging passengers are what makes this profession challenging.

Flight attendants have to deal with passengers with a smile, irrespective of how stressed they are. It was marked as the 10^th most stressful job by careercast in 2013.

Note: The salary figures have been taken from payscale.com, taking US median salary as the standard.

Image Source: Wikipedia, Stocksnap.io, & Unsplash