Dive Brief:
- Nearly 80% of respondents in a CareerCast survey rated their stress levels at or higher than seven on a 10-point scale. Only 69% of respondents scored their job stress accordingly in the 2017 CareerCast stress survey.
- Enlisted members of the military, firefighters and airline pilots ranked among the most stressed on CareerCast's list. Police officer, broadcaster, event coordinator and news reporter followed, and public relations executive, senior corporate executive and taxi driver rounded out the top 10.
- To determine overall stress levels, the survey evaluated 11 stress factors: travel required; growth potential; deadlines; working in the public eye; competition; physical demands; environmental conditions; regular encounter of hazards; life at risk; others' lives at risk; and interacting with the public.
Dive Insight:
Stress may be particularly high for workers facing danger and deadlines. But workers in every industry have reported high stress levels; in one survey, 94% of workers in the U.S. and the U.K. reported high levels of work-related stress. For most workers, the biggest source of their stress is their own boss, data showed. A different set of findings may have revealed why — 1 in 3 managers can't cope with high-stress situations.
Stress may correlate with workload; in that case, HR can work with managers and supervisors to ensure team members have an appropriate amount of responsibilities. And employers can provide wellness programs that show employees how to manage their mental health. HR may be able to help employees manage stress by providing options to work remotely, some have said. With fewer distractions and interruptions, many workers think they could lower their stress levels and increase their productivity while working from home.
