What are High Stress Jobs
Job-related stress is responsible for many health issues among the working population, but it is difficult to label a certain profession as more or less stressful than another.
There are many variables that factor into the amount of job-related stress an individual might experience on his job such as lack of training, working environment and job load, incompetence in upper-management, and the personality of the employee. However, there are some professions that definitely have built-in stress components.
List of High Stress Jobs
Combat Soldiers
It’s hard to imagine a job with more stress than that of a combat soldier. Soldiers are in unfamiliar environments, attacked with guns, mortars and other weaponry, and can never let their guard down.
The stress from being a combat soldier can be a life-long struggle for soldiers. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common problem among combat soldiers and a dangerous problem to live with.
Air Traffic Controllers
Air traffic controllers are required to monitor multiple screens of dots and lines, manage communication with aircraft, perform mathematical tasks and solve problems all within a matter of minutes during every hour on the job.
All it takes is looking away from the screens at the wrong moment or miscalculating the lag time for a takeoff directive, and hundreds of people’s lives are in danger. With all that pressure, it’s no wonder that air traffic controllers may experience headaches, heartburn, hypertension, ulcers and psychoneurotic disorders.
Doctors
Dealing with high doctor-patient ratios, government regulations, insurance companies, malpractice lawsuits, enormous student loan debt and the possibility of making the kind of mistake that results in a patient’s death is enough to put doctors on the list of high-stress professions.
Firefighters
Making split-second decisions, rushing into exploding building to perform rescue operations, high exertion, breathing noxious fumes, performing emergency medical care on victims and dealing with victims’ families is all in a day’s work for a firefighter. Unfortunately, heart disease is also a common factor among the firefighting profession.
Special Unit Policemen
Policemen that work special units such as homicide or sex-crimes see some of the most heinous acts committed by one person on another. Often the victims are children which makes the crimes even harder to deal with. It’s no wonder that the men and women who spend every day facing the worst of society have health issues from job-related stress.
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