To be baffled by how everyone on MN claims to have a really stressful job

[T1nah]

Or their DH does. Or they both do.
What exactly is so stressful about your jobs? Does everyone work in Intensive Care or are you being a bit dramatic about the pressures of your job?

I find my job more stressful than i do productive or enjoyable
That is why I tend to term it stressful
It’s not the hours or the travel it’s the job

I am a manager who works under other higher level managers, I have to manage my own workload, help them manage theirs and manage staff too. It is stressful because it is the NHS and there are so many constant changing policies and procedures and every day ‘something new is being embedded’ (which often doesn’t work or is a repeat of a previous project)
We are constantly being scrutinised

I also have another job 10 hours a week and it is not stressful at all in fact I like it a lot!

We have a lot of competitive stress going on at work.

I work in forensic rehab and often get acute colleagues covering shifts saying it's boring, quiet and more like a holiday. What they fail to take on board is that unlike in acute nursing, if my work doesn't get done no one will be taking over from me, it just gets left for the next shift I'm on. If my risk assessments get even slightly out of date management are all over me.

Having worked in various areas of mental health all I can say is that everyone's job is stressful... just in different ways.

My current job isn't stressful, but the people and environment are. That grinds me down and makes me feel more anxious, upset, angry and "stressed" than I have at any other very busy, deadline-driven jobs.

My last Job was a nightmare. Working for a woman who was less qualified or experienced than me and who got the job because she went to the same church as the chairman.
Her managerial style was to shout and bully. Every time one of the board complimented me on a piece of work, she threatened to fire me.
I don’t usually run away from things but ended up with one shoulder higher than the other with tension, and finally gave in because I was waking up at 3am every night. It was like having PND.

My job now is lovely by comparison. . And better paid.

I'm a chef.

I've landed a job with cushy hours (I only do 50 now, and no nights or Sundays)

BUT- open kitchen so both staff and guests to deal with; one chef- me; I'm also the manager so all ordering, paperwork, allergy info, etc. Basically the stuff a lot of people don't realise we have to do is down to me; I work for an independent so I am also HR, payroll and ms not so nice guy most of the time; And my place of work is a lot more fast paced than the restaurants many chefs are used to. I have to be super speedy. It's awful stressful and sometimes I have to remember it's only breakfast/lunch/whatever and I'm not performing open heart surgery to talk myself down.

I'm very laid back as a person so I don't really ever find my job stressful.

I'm self-employed and clients are sometimes very demanding with deadlines, so I end up working long hours some days (and nights) but that's fine with me really. If anything is not do-able, I just tell the client that, so I never put myself in a really stressful situation tbh.

There are many things that can make a job stressful aside from the actual work itself - the commute, long hours, unsociable work hours, instability and the threat of redundancies, a difficult boss, bullying or difficult colleagues, lack of pay increases etc.

For example, my job wasn't very stressful when I started here 6 years ago, but 2 redundancies later in a notoriously fickle industry (Oil & Gas) has meant that while I have gotten a promotion, our team has been cut by 40% and we have won new client contracts meaning that the workload has increased so everyone is now doing 2-3x their original workload. Work days are long (10-11 hours daily) and there are also no pay increases and tiny bonuses (avg 2% of annual salary). In a company of 900+, I am one of only 3 analysts tagged to handle all employee relations, training, benefits and payroll issues, among other responsibilities...so yes, all those things combined definitely equate to a very stressful job.

I weigh up evidence, apply the law and potentially put people in jail. Or not.
I find it stressful because of the sheer responsibility, the fear of getting it wrong, and the fact that I don't think our jury system works (not in the UK).

I'm in leadership and management in Higher Education - so many stakeholders that its immensely stressful. I'm baffled as to where all the non stressful jobs are actually OP?

Having responsibility for very big numbers/decisions that impact the employers reputation etc, decisions that impact other people's jobs etc. Working with/as part of teams subject to a lot of pressure & demands from lots of stakeholders all at once. Having to choose between several options, all of which will have negative outcomes for people you know etc.

surely most are stressful? and also relative I. e if ur previous job was v. easy

Op who made you the arbitrator of what should and shouldn't cause people stress?

surely most are stressful

I don't know, I think a PP had it right when they said any job can be stressful to someone whose MH is not tip top. If you have stress in other areas of your life, it just makes it worse.

I've had numerous jobs and never found any of them stressful. But I'm just not easily stressed.

I find my job incredibly stressful as I deal with life and death on a daily basis, which is a huge responsibility (and a privilege). Add to that long hours where I regularly don't finish on time, a boss who is the most stressed person I have ever met and takes it out on his staff, frequently being short staffed, and all this whilst getting a very low wage (despite training for 4 years to get a degree in my subject) - it's not difficult to see why I sometimes come home and cry from stress!

Dp is an industrial chemist and if he or one of the operators (or shaved gorillas as he calls them)

Wow. Is he their manager/colleague? I'm sure he doesn't say it to their faces, but that is a really horrid way to speak about people you work with.

Sorry for the de-rail. But that really is disgusting.

@CuriousaboutSamphire

Stop making light of it and work on maintaining your own cognitive strength! You may need it one day!

I'm good thanks but maybe you could share your expertise with the stressed out hordes on MN.

My job’s not stressful (hospital consultant). Long hours yes, lots of responsibilities yes, but I have a fair amount of autonomy and nice colleagues, and am treated with respect by my line manager. I can imagine lots of office jobs are far more stressful, completely unrelated to the nature of the work and totally to do with the working conditions.

Though I do agree that a lot of people’s DH’s seem to have “stressful” jobs that excuse them from childcare/housework and necessitate SAHP-dom, and I suspect that kind of stress is more a case of “I would like to sit down in peace with a drink after dinner because I’m a bit tired, you can do the childcare and washing up” and the job is just a handy excuse.

The shaved gorillas comment horrified me also.
I suspect this sort of attitude to colleagues affects the relationship.

Because I’m making decisions and recommendations that are potentially life-altering for children and their families.
Because I’ve had to do things like interview a five year old victim of child sexual abuse to obtain evidence for trial.
Because I have to do the above things against a backdrop of lack of resources and huge time pressures.

In my job it isn't at all the life and death bits that make me feel stressed- it's the constant mither to fill in a new form, complete this pointless bit of training, little things that take up all the time.
The most stressful thing that happens to me at work is when a patient's family want to speak to me at the time when I have to leave to pick the kids up. I would find it easier to deal with someone suddenly deteriorating than this.

I am an A&E Nurse, and yes it can be extremely stressful, very emotional and hard hitting at times, but it's certainly not a job for the faint hearted, or those who are unable to work in a team, or on their feet for 13 hours.

I have seen the most horrific things, but I could never do another job which does not come with the same intensity as this. I am pretty sure other A&E nurses would agree.

NRTFT but my dh has a very stressful job, a lot of responsibility, deadlines, if he fucks up then there's an awful lot of money at stake. This is partially the reason I don't work, I have no desire to and enjoy being home alone all day. However if I did work then our house would be unbearably chaotic.

I'm an RN on a cardiovascular step down unit and it is fast paced with very sick patients; before I had received change of shift report on my patients I'd already been cussed out by one and another confused one said he was leaving so yes I consider it stressful 12 hour shifts

I had a job that on the surface wasn't stressful at all. Working from home, more than enough time to do the work, work was fairly easy to do.

But I had a bitch of a boss and worked in a toxic culture. I was lied to, stabbed in the back, constantly made to feel like crap, excluded from communications. I spent most of my time upwards managing and watching my mouth to make sure I didn't say anything to dent my boss's massive overinflated ego.

There are different types of stress.

I agree with you OP. It's trendy to be stressed and busy.

People think self worth is defined by their need to be needed and stressed because they're indispensable.

Unfortunately very few individuals are indispensable.

I'm not saying some jobs aren't stressful. Reading the PP re Nurses; that sounds stressful.