There are lots of rankings of most stressful jobs, and many contenders for top ten lists. Not everyone handles or perceives stress in the same way. Some people appear to be able to keep their cool in stressful circumstances, while others have trouble holding it together, understandably. Moreover, even in jobs that are not considered the most stressful, working conditions that are poor can add stress to employees. Managers that scream all the time or constantly change requirements may create stress for employees in what would otherwise be considered less stressful fields of work.
Though there are variations in lists that rank most stressful jobs, a few seem to always make it on the list. People who work in medical or care professions may find their work stressful. These professions include job titles like doctor, counselor, nurse, dentist, and social worker. It’s fairly easy to understand why these jobs might prove difficult. Many of them are directly concerned in the well-being and continued health of others and the constant reminder that actions could have negative impacts that are serious can prove tough to take.
Law enforcement jobs are often ranked as some of the most stressful jobs. Again, there’s the issue of protecting a community, using force judiciously, and personal risk associated with the job. Air traffic controllers have some of the same problems. No one wants to be responsible for mistakes that could hurt huge numbers of people, and decisions may have to be made quickly and accurately in order to accommodate changing conditions or circumstances.
Sometimes certain types of teaching is considered stressful too. In particular, teachers in inner city environments are considered to have stressful jobs. They may have limited resources, and less parental involvement than is needed to help kids be successful. Some inner city teachers, especially in high schools and middle schools must work in environments where there is real potential for harm because of high crime levels.
Jobs involving sales, particularly when continuing to work is based on continued sales performance are among the most stressful jobs. Constant pressure to perform at high levels, and to meet huge goals is certainly enough to give most people a hard time. Also, the public often negatively perceives such work, since most of us don’t want someone else “convincing us” via soft or hard sell that we need to buy something.
Another field that can be reasonably assumed as containing many stressful jobs is employment with a military force, especially if someone is on active duty. Given the high rate of personal risk and risk to fellow soldiers on a daily and sometimes hourly basis, this environment tends to breed stress related conditions like post traumatic stress syndrome. Following long engagement of a military in a war, many soldiers require treatment to help recover from continuing stress caused by this type of work.
