These Are the 10 Most Stressful Jobs of 2023

Revealing the most nerve-racking professions of 2023

Doing a job is a quintessential part of one’s life—for some, it can be joyful but for many others, it can be quite stressful. All of us have to handle stressful situations or projects in our jobs. However, there are some jobs that by their very nature are hectic. A recent report by the Gallup Poll has ranked the most stressful jobs in the United States and they span across healthcare, telecommunications, entertainment, information technology, retail, and law. Here are the jobs that made it to the list of the 10 most stressful ones.

1. Urologists

Urologists are doctors who specialize in the treatment of urinary tracts and infections that might relate to the bladder, urethra, prostate, kidney, and adrenal glands. This job category is at the top of the list when it comes to the stress level range being 100 and their average annual salary is $208,000. The job is stressful due to several factors—it needs ample schooling, a medical license, and experience which requires a lot of hard work, consistency, and sleepless days and nights as patients can raise an emergency anytime.

2. Anesthesiologist assistants

Anesthesia is the primary booster you get for any surgery, blood samples, or any other tests. Anesthesiologist assistants are healthcare professionals working under the supervision of licensed anesthesiologists to give patients the required amount. These assistants manage and control anesthesia required for surgeries as well as non-surgical situations like an injury and mild operations. This profession has a stress level range of 98 which is quite on the higher side due to the exceptional performance in emergency cases which requires extensive training and education. They earn an average yearly pay of $121,530.

3. Film and video editors

Captivating audiences with magnetic and eye-catching videos and photos is pretty challenging and so is the job of film and video editors. Sifting through minutes and sometimes hours of footage and innumerable raw images from the shoots and editing them to perfection requires long hours and often sleepless nights. Video and photo editors often work on tight deadlines and a disturbing amount of screen time takes a toll on their physical and mental health. Therefore, this job which fetches them an annual income of $62,680 surges stress levels up to 99.

4. Judges and magistrates

Whenever the general public faces a legal problem that includes the government, they seek counsel from court judges and magistrates. The judge hears the cases and has the power to announce the decision while the magistrate handles cases of civil disputes, traffic offenses, etc. Their job is pretty tough and challenging as they have to make the decision keeping in mind the law and that no innocent is punished. Court judges have to listen to everyone and make judgments in high-profile cases too due to which their job reaches a stress level of 98.

5. Phone operators 

Have you ever seen phone operators relaxing during their lunch time or working at a slow pace? No? Their job does not give them the privilege of slacking off or even relaxing. The primary job of phone operators is to give information to their callers along with fulfilling their additional requests like billing queries, refunds, charges, etc. The stress levels range up to 98 due to the challenges they have to face, which include providing information to customers and handling their demands and complaints while meeting the targets set by their employers.

6. Obstetricians and gynecologists

Commonly referred to as OB-GYNs are one of the most demanded categories of doctors in hospitals. They specialize in childbirth, pregnancy, and other problems related to the female reproductive system. These doctors face stress levels in the higher range of 97 because the job requires alertness, dealing with complications during childbirth, or sharing sad news with patients and their families. Hence, the job is mentally exhausting, resulting in a high professional burnout rate.

7. Public safety telecommunications

Medical emergencies or emergencies related to theft, crime, terrorism, fire blasts, scams, etc happen all the time. For these, there are public safety telecommunicators whose primary full-time or part-time duties are receiving, processing, and transmitting public safety information received through an emergency services communication system. Telecommunicators keep all information related to emergencies in their records so that they can aptly address customers' queries. They have to provide round-the-clock coverage and their shifts include evenings, weekends, and holidays. The pressure to respond quickly and calmly in alarming situations increases the job's stress level to 97. 

8. Acute care nurses

Acute care nurses are the ones who provide medical services and assistance to patients suffering from acute problems like heart attack, respiratory problems, or trauma. They are the front-line service provider in an emergency care room and need to be on their toes to meet the needs of patients. Since they operate in emergency care and observe multiple life-death battle situations, they undergo a lot of emotional stress, fatigue, and trauma themselves. These nurses have the most stressful job, with a stress level of 98.

9.  First-line supervisor of retail sales workers

First-line supervisors in the retail Industry are responsible for coordinating the work of on-ground retail workers. Their job can be quite hectic as they need to manage the front-line retail workers as well as the expectations of the store manager. They need to ensure customers' waiting periods in the queue are short, customers are attended to properly, issues are addressed quickly, store programs are marketed by retail workers, and a lot more. A bulk of work with a lower salary makes this job unsatisfactory and stressful.

10. Nurse anesthetists

Nurse anesthetists are the nurses responsible for giving anesthesia to the patients for the surgery. These nurses have to be very precise when administering anesthetizers as each drug needs to be given in accurate dosages. This dosage amount needs to be calculated mathematically considering the surgery type, patient's health condition, medical history, and other parameters. A small mistake can prove to be fatal for the patient. These nurses need to maintain records of multiple patients and be very cautious when attending to them because they handle multiple cases in a single day.