Australia’s most stressed professions

THINK you’ve got it tough? Spare a thought for these guys. New research has revealed the professions with the highest levels of stress in Australia.

Generic photo of a stressed man.

THINK you’ve got it tough? Spare a thought for these guys. New research has revealed the professions with the highest levels of stress in Australia.

According to Roy Morgan Research, stress is the most common mental health issue in the country, affecting nearly one quarter of the population.

That’s 4.64 million people who reported experiencing stress in the 12 months to June 2014.

While people out of work were much more likely to experience stress, those in paid employment are also doing it tough.

And the winner is — drumroll please — sales support workers. Yes, the life of a retail worker is not an easy one. Almost half, (48.3 per cent), reported experiencing stress in an average 12 months.

Roy Morgan group account director Angela Smith said the combination of generally low wages, casual work and constant contact with demanding customers led to high levels of stress.

“People employed in these professions are frequently young, and our data indicates that 18- to 24-year-olds are more likely than any other age group to be affected by stress,” she said.

Hospitality workers were close behind, with 37.7 per cent experiencing stress, followed by legal, social and welfare professionals (35 per cent), carers and aides (34.6 per cent) and health and welfare support workers (33.9 per cent).

For those wanting to avoid a stressful lifestyle, a career working with animals or plants seems to be the way to go. Or you could just retire.

The occupations least likely to be affected by stress are skilled animal and horticultural workers (7.1 per cent), clerical and office support workers (11.6 per cent) and storepersons (13.1 per cent), all of whom are even less prone to stress than retirees (14.3 per cent).

The study follows Roy Morgan’s State of the Nation report earlier this year, which revealed stress as the most common mental health issue facing Australians.

Anxiety was found to be the second most common problem, overtaking depression to affect 15.6 per cent of the population — roughly 2.8 million Australians.

AUSTRALIA’S MOST STRESSED PROFESSIONS

1. Sales support workers (48.3 per cent)

2. Hospitality workers (37.7 per cent)

3. Legal, social and welfare professionals (35.0 per cent)

4. Carers and aides (34.6 per cent)

5. Health and welfare support workers (33.9 per cent)

6. Sales representatives and agents (31.9 per cent)

7. Numerical clerks (31.2 per cent)

8. Cleaners and laundry workers (30.3 per cent)

9. General clerical workers (28.9 per cent)

10. Personal assistants and secretaries (28.2 per cent)

Source: Roy Morgan

Originally published as Australia’s most stressed professions