Is Your Job Stressful????

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Every job comes with a degree of stress. And, what may be stressful to one person may not be (stressful) to another. Only you can really determine whether or not you find your current job stressful. However, there are some considerations to take into account as you evaluate your job and whether or not it is worth the stress.

CareerCast.com recently released a jobs report that included the most stressful jobs. In order to rate these jobs, CareerCast.com looked at eleven (11) stress factors. These factors include:

•Travel

•Outlook/Growth potential

•Deadlines

•Work in the public eye

•Competitiveness

•Physical demands

•Environmental conditions

•Possible hazards

•Own life at risk

•Life of another at risk

•Meeting the public

Using the above criteria, you might be able to pinpoint exactly why you think your job is so stressful (or perhaps why it’s not). CareerCast.com found that audiologist was the least stressful job, and airline pilot the most stressful. One of the closest jobs I could find to mine was technical writer, which has a fairly low stress score (mostly due to deadlines, I think).

Is your job worth the trouble?

Of course, most people don’t need a scale to tell them that their jobs are stressful. If you are stressed out by your job, it might be worth considering why you are stressed out, and whether or not it is worth it. The job of air traffic controller is generally accepted as a stressful job, but many people keep at it because it pays pretty well – especially considering you don’t need a four-year degree to do it.

When deciding whether or not your job is worth the trouble and stress, there are a few things to consider:

• Pay: This is the biggest one. How much are you willing to stand if the pay is good? Another issue, of course, is how much you need the money. In some cases, people are trapped in stressful jobs that they hate because they don’t have any place else to turn. It’s important to look for ways to take control of your financial destiny if you ever want to get out of these situations.

• Benefits: In some cases, a stressful job may come with mediocre pay, but great benefits. If you get great health coverage, an employer match for your retirement plan, and a good number of paid vacation days, it can be worth staying on.

• Autonomy: Your work environment and the autonomy that you get might be a consideration. I am very independent, and when I worked for someone else, I was frequently frustrated by micro managers. Even though I did pretty well, I was willing to take my chances as a freelancer if it meant more autonomy and flexibility.

• Schedule: How often do you have to work, and what sort of work is involved? Do you wish that you didn’t have to put in such long days? Do you wish that you had a set schedule? Or a more flexible schedule?

In the end, you need to decide what makes a job worth it for you. There’s nothing wrong with being glad that all you have to do is punch in for eight hours a day, and then go home and enjoy some time with your family – without needing to think about your job. On the other hand, if you want more flexibility, and you look for something else in a job, you might be better off considering a career change.

Source: Businessday Newspaper