The 10 Most Depressing Jobs: Is The Work Worth The Downer?

Everyone has bad days at work, but what happens when that bad day is repeated everyday, one after another?

That was the question Health sought to get answers to in their look into depression and the workplace. The magazine looked at 21 professional fields and found the ones whose employees reported having the highest rates of major depression over the course of the year.

The Top Ten Most Depressing Jobs:

1. Nursing home/ child-care workers
2. Food Service Staff
3. Social Workers
4. Health-care workers
5. Artists, entertainers, writers
6. Teachers
7. Administrative Support Staff
8. Maintenance and grounds workers
9. Financial advisors and accountants
10. Salespeople

According to Eugene Baker, Ph.D., vice president of employee assistance programs for OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions:

“A job can be a source of meaning and social support, which can provide a buffer against depression for some people. But if you are unhappy with your job, and it is chronic unhappiness, and you feel powerless to change your situation, these feelings of helplessness can foster depression.”

The list really makes me wonder two things. First, are people picking professions they are passionate about or buckling under the stress of working in a relationship, emotion intensive field? And second, once you find yourself in a job that takes away your joy should you look for a new one or are there ways to make the situation better?

What do you think of the list Clutchettes? Are these professions really downers? What makes them more apt to higher depression rates?