Dive Brief:
- Enlisted military, firefighter, airline pilot and police officer topped CareerCast's list of 2018's most stressful jobs, while diagnostic medical sonographer was rated the least stressful. Other jobs rated the least stressful were hair stylist, audiologist and college professor.
- The job search site considered each position's risk of injury or death, physical demands and everyday hazards in determining their stress rating.
- CareerCast also factored in salaries and growth outlook for each job entry. According to the job site, those looking for work should consider an occupation's growth outlook, as well as its salary and stress rate, when choosing to apply.
Dive Insight:
Regardless of the occupation in question, HR has a responsibility to address excessive stress and burnout. This isn't to say that employees shouldn't be considered capable of anticipating the demands of a given career path, but the reality is that works simply don't perform their best when suffering from burnout. Much of the time, burnout translates to lower productivity. But it can quickly become much worse; employers might need to intervene if workers display signs of erratic behavior, health problems or substance abuse.
On the ground level, managers and supervisors must be trained to look for signs of stress among workers. Lightening workloads, granting extra time off, upping remote-work options and providing behavioral services through employee assistance programs (EAPs) or wellness programs are all measures employers can take to reduce the risk of burnout.