9 most stressful industries to work in, according to study | Oakwood Solicitors (2024)

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If you feel stressed at work you’re not alone, as new data has revealed the top industries suffering from stress-related illnesses.

The study analysed data from around 100,000 workers who reported stress-related illnesses to the Health and Safety Executive between March 2022 and 2023.

The statistics show the number of stress-related illnesses caused or made worse by employment, as well as evaluating the health, safety and environment.

Last year, an estimated 35.2 million working days were lost in 2022/23 due to self-reported work-related ill health or injury.

HSE’s chief executive Sarah Albon said:

“Preventing or tackling work-related stress can provide significant benefits to employees, improving their experience of work and their overall health; and also to employers including increased productivity, decreased absenteeism and reduced staff turnover.”

Work-related stress can be caused by several factors, and mental health charity Mind explains ‘stress’ is how we react when we feel under pressure or threatened. It usually happens when we are in a situation that we don’t feel we can manage or control.

At work, this might be due to having too many demands, changes, too much to do or too many decisions to make in the workplace.

Chronic stress can seriously affect your overall health and has the potential to deplete your energy levels, affect your confidence, and eventually lead to burnout.

What are the most stressful jobs to work in?

1) Human health and social work

According to the study, people who worked in human health and social work roles were the most stressed as figures show 3,530 people per 100,000 employees have experienced work-related stress.

2) Public defence

People who work in public defence, such as security guards and prison officials also experience high levels of stress. According to the study, 3,260 out of every 100,000 workers reported a health issue connected to stress.

3) Education

Education workers, such as teachers and teaching assistants reported 2,720 work-related stress incidents for every 100,000 employees.

4) Professional, scientific, and technical industry

People who work in professional services such as legal firms also suffered with 2,310 employees out of every 100,000 reporting work-related stress.

5) Finance

Finance workers were fifth on the list, with 2,140 employees out of 100,000 reporting a stress-related illness.

6) Real estate

Real estate workers who deal with property lets and sales weren’t far behind with 2,070 employees out of 100,000 reporting a stress-related illness.

7) Information and communication

People working in information and communication were also one of the most stressed employees, with 1,870 workers out of 100,000 reporting work-related stress illnesses.

8) Arts and Entertainment

Working in the arts and entertainment industry is known for being stressful with short-term contracts and unsociable working hours. The figures show 1,820 employees out of 100,000 reported a stress-related illness

9) Wholesale and retail

Retail workers also have long, unsociable hours and often have to deal with tricky customers. Meanwhile, the past few years have seen a huge increase in the number of assaults and abuse these workers endure just by carrying out their everyday jobs.

1,530 employees out of every 100,000 people have revealed stress-related illness.

Stress at work claims

If you are suffering from stress at work, you may be entitled to compensation from your employer. If the stress is so significant that it has caused you psychiatric injury, or damaged your mental health – you could make a claim.

There are 2 main pieces of health and safety law which cover work-related stress:

• The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 – puts a ‘duty of care’ on employers to protect their employees from the risk of stress at work
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 – this requires all employers to make a ‘suitable and sufficient assessment’ of the risks to the health and safety of their employees at work

This means that by law employers must:

• Identify any risks to their employees’ health, for example by carrying out a risk assessment
• Take steps to prevent or reduce work-related stress

Employers must also make sure they’re following the law onworking time rules(Working Time Regulations 1998). This is because working long hours without regular breaks can be a cause of work-related stress.

Stress at work – How to make a claim

To make a Stress at Work claim, you must legally prove that you have not only suffered workplace stress, but the stress meets the clinical criteria for a recognised psychiatric condition.

Employers have a legal obligation to make sure measures are in place to support staff from physical and mental harm.

If it can be proven that they have been in breach of the regulations, and you have suffered as a result, you could be entitled to compensation.

Further reading

Stress at work claims – Oakwood Solicitors

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