Everyone knows that sometimes work is so exhausting that we can only dream about a weekend or vacation. Doctors say that there are professions that, in addition to stress, lead to serious diseases: heart attacks and strokes. However, some workers are more susceptible to these diseases than others. What is the reason? It turns out the whole thing is where the person works. Chinese neurologists conducted a study and compiled a list of the most disadvantaged professions.
Any profession is dangerous in its own way
With physical work, everything is more or less clear: there are quite a few dangerous professions. In particular, we are talking about miners, chemical plant operators and radiologists. Military and police are also included in this list. However, every profession has a negative side: stress factor. According to statistics, 40% of people worry about failures in their professional careers, and 25% believe that work is the main source of problems in their lives.
Work that causes eye twitching or hand tremors is dangerous to your health. The result of this can be a stroke and coronary heart disease, as well as depression, headaches, dermatological diseases and even an increase in cholesterol.
Determining stress levels at work
To determine how stressful your work is, you must consider two factors.
- Level of requirements. This includes timelines, task complexity, mental efforts, employer expectations, the need to make decisions quickly in a short time. For example, a neurosurgeon has much higher demands than a book seller.
- Level of control. The ability of an employee to choose how and when to perform tasks assigned to him.
Chinese neurologists from the University of Canton wondered which profession is most at risk of cardiovascular disease and depression, and who is more at risk: a pilot or, for example, a teacher. To find out who has the most difficult life, scientists divided all professions into 4 types.
Low requirements combined with low controls
This category includes janitors, workers whose professions involve physical efforts or services that do not require direct communication with customers.
Those who represent these professions have almost no responsibility for mental activity and rarely set deadlines for completing work. At the same time, employees do not make independent decisions: all of their activities are governed by rules and clear instructions. These people are less likely to suffer a stroke or heart attack due to a situation in the workplace.
The combination of low requirements and high levels of control
In this case, we are talking about architects, artists, scientists, designers, programmers and journalists. And also about some office workers and officials, such as lawyers and accountants.
As a rule, the lives of other people do not depend on them. But representatives of this group of professions make decisions independently. They do not feel moral pressure and themselves manage their professional careers. Here the likelihood of "exhaustion" at work is also not very high.
High level of both requirements and control
This group includes doctors, teachers, firefighters, rescuers, military and police. These people care about others, protect their life and health.
But, despite the high level of stress and at the same time responsibility, this work satisfies one of the basic human needs: to be necessary. The feeling that you are valued and respected is no less important than a good salary. However, stroke and heart disease are more common in this group.
Combination of high level requirements with a low level of control
This group is represented by waiters, nurses and assistants, social workers and salespeople. In general, all those people who are forced to delight customers with their work.
These are the most morally complex and destructive professions in the world. Among service workers, there are 22% more cases of stroke or cardiovascular disease. Women suffer the most. The result of this hard work is often addiction to unhealthy foods (no time to eat) and smoking (in an attempt to calm down), which is also harmful to health. In general, 20-30% of people in the world are engaged in work that can lead to a hospital bed.
The main symptoms of stress at work
In a stressful situation, the body produces special hormones, cortisol and adrenaline. Because of this, the heartbeat becomes quicker, the pupils dilate, sweat appears and hands can tremble. This is normal if it occurs sporadically.
Our body is not designed to experience chronic stress: due to constant nervousness, the body wears out faster. If you notice the following symptoms in yourself, it's time to change something:
- frequent headaches;
- constant fatigue;
- trouble sleeping
- bouts of laziness;
- stomach upset;
- irritability.
In this case, doctors and psychologists advise you to relax, go on vacation, play sports and learn how to relax.