The person with the City’s least stressful job might be sitting next to you
If your return to work this January has felt like a slog, it may be time to get into compliance, for a new ranking of the world's most stressful job has put compliance officers right at the bottom.
Research by US jobsite CareerCast looked at 11 factors that add to stress, including deadlines, hazards, public scrutiny, physical demands, competition and career growth potential.
According to the ranking, compliance officers have the world's second-least stressful jobs (and the finance sector's least stressful job), with a stress rating of 5.73, and an average salary of just over $65,000 (£53,000). It was second only to diagnostic medical sonographer, which has a median salary of $63,630.
They found the world's most stressed-out workers are those in the military, who had a stress score of 72.74 – and a salary of just $27,936. (£22,764).
In fact, medicine appears to be a reasonably relaxed sector to get into – audiologist, medical records technician, pharmacy technician and medical laboratory technician were all listed in the 10 least stressful jobs.
Also among the most stressful jobs were senior executives and PR executives – as well as taxi drivers and newspaper reporters and broadcasters (no wonder the BBC has spent £815,000 on counselling staff for stress).
Read more: Merry Stressmas, and an anxious New Year
| Most stressed | Score | Salary | Least stressed | Score | Salary | |
| 1. | Military Personnel | 72.74 | $27,936 | Diagnostic Medical Sonographer | 4.00 | $63,630 |
| 2. | Firefighter | 72.68 | $45,870 | Compliance Officer | 5.73 | $65,640 |
| 3. | Airline Pilot | 60.54 | $102,520 | Hair Stylist | 6.71 | $23,710 |
| 4. | Police Officer | 51.68 | $60,270 | Audiologist | 7.31 | $74,890 |
| 5. | Event Coordinator | 51.15 | $46,840 | University Professor (tenured) | 8.17 | $72,470 |
| 6. | Newspaper Reporter | 49.90 | $36,360 | Medical Records Technician | 8.57 | $37,110 |
| 7. | Corporate Executive (Senior) | 48.56 | $102,690 | Jeweller | 8.95 | $37,060 |
| 8. | Public Relations Executive | 48.50 | $104,140 | Operations Research Analyst | 9.02 | $78,630 |
| 9. | Taxi Driver | 48.18 | $23,510 | Pharmacy Technician | 9.10 | $30,410 |
| 10. | Broadcaster | 47.93 | $37,720 | Medical Laboratory Technician | 10.31 | $50,550 |
Stress and the City
One job left off the list was investment banker – despite figures published in October showing 40 per cent believe their job is "extremely stressful".
The research, by MetLife, suggested two-thirds of investment bankers were so stressed they had considered quitting their jobs, while half said they work 25 or more weekends a year.
Meanwhile, 70 per cent said admitting to their problems could damage their careers.