10 Jobs With The Highest Burnout Rates (and 5 of the Lowest)

Physicians may have one of the highest-paying jobs in the world but it comes at a price: it’s also one of the jobs with high burnout rates. One of the risk factors for burnout is working with people. For physicians, this is exacerbated by the fact that those people are sick and maybe even dying. As if this emotional toll isn’t bad enough, physicians often work long hours with very little sleep.

Nursing also has a high burnout rate. Like doctors, they tend to work long hours, dealing with people who are sick and scared. However, they also do the dirty work and can easily feel unappreciated for that, increasing their risk of burnout.

If you want to know why retail and service — especially in fast food — are among the industries with high burnout rates, you simply need to look at any of the viral videos of customers having meltdowns. Frontline retail and fast-food workers not only have to deal with customers who often treat them poorly but they also spend long hours on their feet for very little pay and benefits, making them feel undervalued.

For social workers, burnout is often linked to compassion fatigue or secondary traumatic stress. Setting boundaries is an important strategy to adopt when you see the signs that you’re heading for burnout but it’s not that easy when you’re dealing with people in traumatic situations. High caseloads and overwork increase the burnout risk for social workers.

For police officers, the stress that leads to burnout comes mainly from the fact that they deal with the worst of humanity every day and that they never know whether they’ll still be alive at the end of their workday. In a field where you’re expected to keep up the appearance of toughness, many police officers also choose the worst strategies for dealing with burnout: turning to alcohol, for instance.

Air traffic controllers may have one of those airport jobs that pay well, but they also have one of the most stressful jobs in the world. They need to be super alert at all times because one mistake can cause a crash and hundreds of deaths. This constant stress can lead to burnout if they don’t adopt healthy coping strategies.

Emergency response workers such as paramedics, emergency medical technicians and firefighters have some of the most sleep-deprived jobs in Canada. They often work night shifts, which messes with their sleep patterns. In addition, they’re prone to PTSD because of what they see in a typical day’s work, so the burnout rates in this field come as no surprise.

Another career field with a very high burnout rate is law, where you can tick off nearly every box for burnout risk factors. Lawyers — especially those specializing in criminal law — often have high caseloads. The work of sifting through countless documents is actually pretty boring and not being able to discuss cases with others is isolating. In addition, they often have to deal with the kind of people none of us need in our lives. It’s also a misconception that all lawyers have one of those jobs that could make you a millionaire: only corporate lawyers earn really big bucks.

The pandemic has shown many parents just how difficult the job of a teacher is. Teachers not only have to deal with students who aren’t always as well behaved as the parents may think, but most of the real work happens after hours: preparing lesson plans, grading and the like. It’s a thankless job that is often underpaid too, so teachers may soon become disillusioned.

The stereotypical image of a certified public accountant — or CPA — is of someone with a rather colourless personality doing a boring job. CPAs actually have a surprisingly high burnout rate, though: the job itself isn’t the most inspiring but in addition, they have heavy client loads, work in isolation and are often sleep deprived, especially during tax season. At least they have one of the jobs with the best starting salaries.

If you feel that the best way of coping with job burnout is to look for a different career, here are five jobs with low burnout rates.

As a hair stylist, you’ll still deal with people, which is a risk factor for burnout. However, your clients will generally be better behaved: not only are they more relaxed after having their hair washed but they also know that you’re the one holding the scissors. Hair salons are generally relaxing environments too. The only real drawback of being a hair stylist is that you’ll be spending long hours on your feet.

The most stressful part of your job as a jeweller may be working with precious, expensive materials that you don’t want to mess up: after all, it might become some of the most expensive jewellery ever worn to the Oscars. The people you work with are usually going through a joyous time — getting engaged or married, having an anniversary or celebrating a milestone or simply being in love — which means they’re less prone to abusive behaviour towards you. You can choose your hours and you get to create beautiful things.

Women in STEM report higher stress levels than men simply because of the frustrations of working in a male-dominated field. Still, engineers generally have jobs with lower stress levels. One of the least stressful engineering careers — and one of the best careers for women in science and engineering — is biomedical engineering, which allows you creative thinking in a low-key environment. It’s well paid and offers great job security too.

One of the best strategies for coping with job burnout and reducing your stress levels is to spend time in nature. It’s even better when you get paid for spending time in the great outdoors. As a geoscientist, you can easily get away from it all but still have human contact when you need to. It’s a high-paying job with great job security too.

Dog walkers have one of the best low-stress jobs for a healthier, happier life. You can choose your clients and your hours. You get to spend time outdoors, getting exercise: a crucial coping mechanism to lower your stress and help you sleep better. And best of all? You get to play with pups.