How stressful is your job? (Picture: Getty)
Manual labour, hard work under the sun (when it appears) and demanding customers.
Being a tradesperson might sound like a thankless job, but it turns out, it’s actually one of the least stressful professions.
A new study which factored in average working hours, salary, and reported cases of work-related stress, anxiety, or depression determined the overall stress levels associated with various occupations.
And it turns out that electricians, plumbers, and construction workers experience relatively lower stress levels than many other jobs.
Despite the demanding nature of their work, the number of work-related depression is remarkably lower in these sectors.
In 2023, less than 1% of workers per 100,000 reported experiencing work-related SAD (seasonal affective disorder) compared to others.
Even chefs are pretty chilled (Picture: Getty Images/Maskot)
And, perhaps surprisingly, chefs are also pretty stress-free – which is hard to believe if you’ve ever watched The Bear.
The study, by Go.Compare Life Insurance, collated data from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). They found that energy plant operatives had the least stressful job in the UK, closely followed by electricians, scoring 3.2 and 3.4 out of 10 on the stress index, respectively.
According to the 2021 Census, approximately 1.9 million Brits work in the process, plant and machine operative sector and 2.8 million work in skilled trades.
This means that over 17% of British workers are lucky enough to work in some of the UK’s most low-stress occupations.
Least and most stressful jobs in the UK
Least stressful
Energy plant operative
Electrician
Water and sewerage operative
Agricultural machinery driver
Chef
Construction
Carpenter/Joiner
Plumber
Mechanic
Roofer
Most stressful
Midwife
Counsellor
Youth/community worker
Nurse
Fire service officer
Occupational therapist
Paramedic
Police officer
Teaching assistant
Receptionist
On the other end of the scale, some of the most difficult professions might not come as a surprise.
Midwifery, counselling, youth and community workers, and nurses hold some of the most stressful jobs.
Other high-risk jobs that come with plenty of stresses include fire services, police, paramedics and therapists.
Teaching assistants and receptionists also deal with more stress than we might realise.
Tradespeople’s workloads are highly managed reducing stress (Picture: Getty)
Go.Compare reached out to employee and mental health wellbeing provider, Rightsteps, to provide some insight into why certain jobs are more easygoing than others.
Dave Lewis, principal at Rightsteps, gave his opinion on why traders might have the least stressful jobs: ‘There could be lots of reasons, but it might be that for energy plant operatives the health and safety regulations that govern their role and working environment mean that individuals are both highly trained for their roles and that their workloads are closely managed to ensure the risk of errors are minimised, thus mitigating two key sources of workplace stress.’
How to tackle workplace stress
Dr Julia Dabrowski, a psychologist at Companion, previously shared her tips with Metro.co.uk:
Identify the triggers. Try noticing the situations that typically trigger your anxiety. ‘What do you notice going on around you? What expectations are you faced with?Consider what may be going through your mind in these moments, what anxious thoughts are you having?’ …read more
Source:: Metro
