Business

New study reveals the UK’s top 10 ‘most stressful’ jobs

Do you agree with this list?

Emily Sergeant - 16th September 2024

A top 10 list of the most stressful jobs in the UK has been compiled and shared following an interesting new study.

Every job role comes with its fair share of stresses, that we can all agree on.

You could ask pretty much any working person across the country to tell you what makes their job so stressful on a daily basis, and they’d probably be able to reel you off a couple without even having to think too hard about it – but which jobs ask more of their employees than others?

Some jobs certainly come with more than their fair share of challenges compared to others, but what roles and which industries are considered to be the UK’s most stressful? Well, in a bid to find out this answer out once and for all, personal injury injury experts, Claims.co.uk, analysed health and safety executive data from the UK Government.

Researchers looked at the prevalence and rates of self-reported stress, depression, or anxiety that were either caused, or made worse by, their current or most recent job.

And it’s police officers who take the top spot.

A new study has revealed the UK’s top 10 ‘most stressful’ jobs / Credit: gov.uk | GMP

With a rate of 6,500 per 100,000 current or former police officers reporting that their job had negatively impacted their mental health, this rate is alarmingly almost two and a half times (242%) higher than the national average.

Approximately 11,000 out of an estimated total of 169,231 police officers reported that their jobs had caused mental health issues or made them even worse, which works out to an estimated 6.5% of the total employees in this role.

Social workers rank second, with a rate of 6,100 per 100,000 social workers currently or formerly employed in social work roles reporting mental health issues caused by their jobs, while third place goes to welfare and housing associate professionals, who have a rate of 5,810 per 100,000 reporting mental health issues from their jobs.

Top 10 most stressful jobs in the UK

Police officers (sergeant and below)
Social workers
Welfare and housing associate professionals
Community nurses
Other nursing professionals
Higher education teaching professionals
Primary education teaching professionals
Secondary education teaching professionals
Human resource managers and directors
National government administrative occupations

Community nurses and other nursing professionals, higher and primary education teachers, and HR managers were just a few of the other stressful jobs making up the top 10.

“The findings bring to light job roles throughout the UK that detrimentally affect the mental health of employees,” a spokesperson for Claims.co.uk commented.

“Police officers, social workers, and welfare and housing associate professionals are notably associated with higher stress levels. Factors such as long hours, high responsibilities, and public-facing roles appear to contribute significantly to an employee’s mental health being negatively impacted.”

The spokesperson added that employers should encourage regular breaks, offer mental health resources, and promote open communication to employees manage their mental health more effectively.

Featured Image – Lyncconf Games (via Flickr)