As a child, I used to think that finishing my assignment writing on time was the toughest job on Earth. When I grew older, I realized that was far from the truth. Many jobs are a lot tougher because of frequent stress and demanding expectations. Workplace stress can take a severe toll on your health. According to the American Institute of Stress, 40% of workers reported their job was extremely stressful, and 25% of workers say that their job is the number one stressor in their lives.
The most demanding jobs in 2019 are based on factors like strict deadlines, health threats, and even life threats. However, you will be surprised to find some of the most common professions listed here.
Curious enough to know about them? Here you go:
1. Cab Driver
Annual median salary: $24,880
Some burdens cab drivers have to face include the risk of unpredictable and unreliable work and pay, heavy traffic, and unforeseeable weather conditions. Cab drivers have no job security, despite how many people depend on them for transportation. In addition to this, cab drivers face higher risks of picking up random people including drunkards, drug addicts, and even hardcore criminals.
2. Police Officer
Annual Median Salary: $65,400
The duties of a police officer consist of protecting people and maintaining law and order. The officers have to patrol the areas their supervisors assign them to without having a fixed hour of duty. Criminals want to hurt them, so this is one of the greatest risks associated with the job. Moreover, most police officers are at higher risks of suicide, due to the nature of their work.
3. Firefighter
Annual Median Salary: $49,080
Firefighters are primarily responsible for responding to accidents and damages that fire causes. They work through a variety of emergencies. These can include water rescue, chemical spills, and more. They are susceptible to smoke injuries, burns, and at times, death at work. Firefighters can suffer from long-term, job-related illnesses like asthma, lung cancer, and heart disease.
4. Event Coordinator
Annual Median Salary: $48,290
Supervising every aspect of event planning and management is no cakewalk. Managing external and internal events, along with following up with the clients can cause severe health risks and mental stress. These professionals are always in a hurry to manage huge chunk of work within strict deadlines just to meet their clients’ high standards.
5. News Reporter
Annual Median Salary: $39,370
Reporters working for news sources such as television, radio, magazines, and websites never follow a fixed schedule. Because they frequently travel to various sites, getting killed for their work is the latest threat to journalists across the world. Reporting information from war zones poses a hazard and unpredictable circumstances can put reporters at risk.
6. Airline Pilot
Annual Median Salary: $111,930
At times, high paying jobs have higher risks regarding health issues, death threats, and the like. The life of an airline pilot is a stressful one with environmental risks and exposure to extreme weather conditions at airports and airspace. Not to mention, airline pilots do face the risk of violence from passengers with ulterior motives.
7. Military Personnel
Annual Median Salary: $26,802
Enlisted personnel make up about 83% of the Armed Forces. They carry out military operations in high-risk zones that include combating terrorism, hardcore encounters, and brutal killings. In a war, they have no choice but to remain resilient in the face of danger. At times, they face scarcity of food supplies and armaments, which are largely out of their control.
8. Public Relations Executive
Annual Median Salary: $111,280
Promoting, managing, and maintaining the public’s opinion of a person are significant responsibilities. After all, these duties require more work than people think. Since there are many back-to-back client meetings, executives experience mental stress, emotional fatigue, and physical risks. Also, PR agencies put more pressure on their employees to meet stringent data collection regulations.
9. Broadcaster
Annual Median Salary: $62,910
Reporting news and other events to an audience through multiple platforms is no child’s play. With high levels of stress, this job affects your social and personal life. Television broadcasters need to keep up with viewer behaviors and preferences. In addition, they need to pay close attention to what their audience wants. They need to consider what brings the most exposure for the media company. Evidently, too much stress at work and back-to-back coverage restrict broadcasters from spending quality time with their families.
10. Senior Corporate Executive
Annual Median Salary: $104,700
“With great power comes great responsibility” and stress. Since they have so much responsibility, corporate executives have a loaded schedule with little time to waste. They must supervise IT employees and organize projects and policies under strict deadlines. Additionally, they face higher risks of receiving the blame for loss of revenue in the company.
Conclusion
“If you are going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill
Work and stress seem to go hand in hand. However, a focused professional must stick to his/her job, even when it’s tough. It’s critical to carry out all responsibilities with diligence without considering the task as a stressor. Because how else would anybody get important work done in time?
As always, there is no substitute for hard work and persistence.
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
