Then again, some professions are inarguably tough to take. Doctors, lawyers and police officers routinely top suicide lists. And some jobs are plain dangerous: miners have the highest job-fatality rate in the country (31.9 for every 100,000 workers). Less extreme but much more widespread are the psychological hazards that result from 10 years of corporate downsizing and having to keep up with the speed and volume of computers. Dr. Rupert C. Burtan, a specialist in occupational medicine, says, “Many workers have too much dumped on their desks and not enough time in which to get it all done.” That complaint is often made by secretaries, who also make most stressed-out lists.
Jobs that attract idealistic types can sour when the work seems to make little meaningful difference. Besides police officers and lawyers, inner-city teachers and journalists often fall into this category. Doctors, interns and nurses can, too, when the waves of the sick seem endless.
Why the recent wave of burned-out basketball coaches? Sports gives them tremendous responsibilities but, ultimately, little control. Coaches can only coach; they can’t actually run the plays. But if the team loses, they still get fired. Similarly, waiters and waitresses get stiffed on tips if the cook screws up.
But experts say the toughest occupation may still be that of working mom. Many women who are bringing home the bacon are still expected to fry and serve it, too. “There really are relatively few couples where child care and domestic work are truly shared,” says Harriet Lerner, a psychologist at the Menninger Clinic. Even unemployed husbands do no more than 36 percent of the housework. Now that’s a study in high stress and high shame.
