Me, uptight? Really?!
I caught this link in a recent issue of Ragan Daily Newsfeed. Careercast.com posted an article called the 10 Most Stressful Jobs of 2010. In the article it was stated that public relations officers are in the 8th most stressful job, just behind highway patrol officers and ahead of advertising account executives and real estate agents.
The Careercast article states:
Job-related stress has long been the nemesis of workers around the globe. Stress has been linked in studies to everything from low productivity to increased illness to obesity. Fallout from the recession has only compounded the problem. Many work harder for less money, and wonder if they'll still have a job at day's end. Combine this with new technology that makes it easier than ever to work around the clock (and even on vacation), and it's no wonder that on-the-job stress – and finding ways to manage it – has become an ever more important issue.
So, I'm uptight? Is that so? Heh, ask anyone that knows me well enough and they will tell you that I have a passion for my work that causes me to do things "because it is the right thing to do" and to care when "it seems that others do not." Communicating the mission, activities, news and day-to-day functions of my agency are important to me. I feel I could do so much more. And, of course, I'm attempting to do the work that I feel a passion to do, even when it seems futile.
So why do I keep working in public relations/communications? Perhaps this will explain as explained further in the article:
Surveying 200 different professions based on their potential to strain employees' nerves, the 2010 Jobs Rated report reveals some surprising trends among the year's most stressful and least stressful jobs. In particular, many low-stress jobs offer little room for advancement, and often don't appeal to ambitious, educated job seekers. On the other hand, a number of the most stressful jobs are considered highly sought-after positions, and workers frequently undergo rigorous and costly training for the chance at one of these careers. Becoming an Appliance Repairer or Janitor, for example, may be good for the heart rate, but neither career is exactly fulfilling.
Of course, it may not help that I'm also trained in the industry known to have the highest levels of stress as I continue to work my PR/Communications/Safety Education role. We're #1! We're #1!
