Ever wondered why some people struggle more with mental health at work? Spill chat research shows that workplace mental health affects nearly 1 in 6 employees (14.7%) across industries, with devastating personal and economic costs.
In fact, 12 billion working days are lost annually worldwide due to depression and anxiety, costing the global economy over $1 trillion every year, according to the WHO. In the U.S., women are twice as likely as men to receive a depression diagnosis related to work stress.
Understanding which careers carry higher mental health risks isn’t about discouraging dreams; it’s about promoting awareness so that employers and employees can create healthier, more supportive workplaces. Here are 16 jobs most likely to leave workers feeling depressed.
Community and social service workers
First on the list are social workers and community service workers, with a 29 percent lifetime incidence of diagnosed depression. Makes sense when you think about it, right?
These heroes face the most challenging problems in society. They are subjected to instances of abuse, poverty, and trauma that would shatter most of us.
The emotional toll of trying to fix unfixable situations while juggling impossible caseloads? Yeah, that’s a recipe for burnout.
Healthcare support workers
Healthcare support staff, including medical assistants, home health aides, and nursing assistants, often experience depression rates at or above 20%, especially when working in low-wage, high-demand settings.
They witness suffering daily but often lack the decision-making power to feel more in control. These employees are the first responders to human suffering and illness, but they are often poorly compensated and undervalued.
It’s emotionally exhausting work that demands everything while offering little in return.
Food preparation and serving workers
In the U.S., food preparation and serving workers had a 10.3% past-year prevalence of major depressive episodes.
The working environment is where depression thrives due to the long hours of work, low wages, demanding customers, and physically demanding work.
The combination of financial stress and workplace demands makes this one of the most mentally challenging industries out there.
Personal care and service workers
This is a general group comprising child care workers, funeral attendants, and the depression levels are at about 20 percent. The common thread? These jobs require constant emotional labor, yet offer limited autonomy and financial rewards.
Whether it’s attending to the elderly or blow-drying hair and hearing about the life issues of ten people a day, the emotional responsibilities can be overwhelming.
Add in typically low wages and limited career advancement, and depression becomes almost inevitable for many.
Arts, entertainment, sports, and media workers
Here’s where it gets interesting: creative professionals have a 44% lifetime depression rate. Musicians, writers, artists, and media workers face unique challenges that can lead to mental health issues.
This lifestyle of feast-or-famine, continuing rejection, and money troubles keeps the depression brewing. Work of a creative nature may demand vulnerability and emotional contribution, which can be exhausting to the mind.
Plus, the myth of the “tortured artist” sometimes prevents people in these fields from seeking help.
Healthcare practitioners
Even doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals aren’t immune, with nearly one-third of physicians showing symptoms of depression. The stress to save lives, long working hours, and being exposed to illness and death all come at their own costs.
Healthcare workers also face moral injury, as they are unable to provide the care they know patients need due to systemic constraints and limitations. It is a sad and stressful experience to see people in pain when you realize that you can do something about it, had the system not been this way.
Accommodation and food service workers
Hotel workers, restaurant managers, and hospitality staff face around 18.7% depression rates. These jobs often involve dealing with demanding customers while working irregular hours for relatively low pay.
The ‘customer is always right’ mentality of the hospitality industry can be especially harmful to mental health. Employees often endure abuse with a smile, and the feelings of powerlessness and resentment that result are ultimately depressing.
Nursing home workers and caregivers
Four times more than other jobs, these professionals are committed workers who are prone to depression. Working with understaffing and limited resources, caring about old and dying patients leads to a very stressful working environment.
Caregivers develop emotional attachments to residents, and it is agonizing to lose them when the inevitable happens. This is one of the most mentally challenging jobs due to its physical demands, emotional strain, and poor working environments in most cases.
Retail workers
A 2025 study analyzing over 536,000 U.S. workers found that retail trade workers reported depression rates around 18%, making them one of the industries with the highest lifetime diagnosed depression rates.
They are required to interact with challenging customers, work long hours on their feet, and meet sales targets. The emergence of online shopping has also brought about job insecurity in this profession.
Black Friday, holiday traffic, and contending with entitled clients day in, day out? It is understandable why retail employees struggle with depression. The wage is hardly equivalent to the emotional and physical efforts of the job.
First responders
The exposure to trauma and the situations characterized by high levels of stress have increased depression rates among police officers, firefighters, and paramedics. The nature of emergency work means constantly witnessing humanity at its worst.
Another challenge these professionals face is maintaining composure in life-threatening situations. It is the cultural norm that they are expected to be strong, which often prevents them from seeking assistance when they need it the most.
Teachers and education professionals
Teachers are under pressure due to the dwindling availability of resources. The Canadian Teachers Federation discovered that about 70 percent of the teachers were worried about their mental health because they cited reasons such as poor funding, challenging students, and excessive administrative workloads.
Teaching has become a profession that is highly respected, and as such, teachers are always in need of reassurance that they are doing their job effectively, even though they often work 60 hours or more per week.
The pressure to be everything —an educator, counselor, parent figure, and disciplinarian —is simply too much for many to handle.
Financial professionals
The accountants and financial analysts are exposed to deadlines, large amounts of money, and the fear of making financial errors. The 2008 financial crisis demonstrated that careers in this industry can crumble very quickly, adding job insecurity to an already stressful environment.
Tax season, quarterly reports, and audit deadlines create a cycle of stress that many people struggle to cope with. Financial work also requires high levels of perfectionism, which is also appealing to perfectionists and exacerbates the symptoms of depression.
Administrative assistants
The administrative staff is often overlooked and experiences significant stress due to handling numerous demanding bosses and tight deadlines. The insufficient recognition and lack of opportunities for promotion lead to a feeling of underestimation.
Such employees are expected to be intuitive, able to anticipate needs, and manage unrealistic schedules. Recurring interruptions and conflicting priorities prevent one from feeling successful or accomplished.
Job dissatisfaction affecting administrative workers shows that 37% don’t feel they have adequate learning or growth opportunities, and 48% say their career aspirations remain unmet, contributing to feelings of underestimation and stress [UK PeopleInsight, 2025].
Mental health professionals
The irony is real, those dedicated to helping others with mental health often struggle themselves. Constant exposure to trauma and emotional pain, combined with the pressure to “have it all together,” creates unique challenges.
Therapists and counselors work with the secondary trauma of their clients without stepping over professional boundaries. The work of emotional labor is enormous, and some individuals may be unable to ask for assistance, as they risk being perceived as hypocrites.
Legal professionals
The American Bar Association discovered that 28% of lawyers suffered from depression. The antagonistic aspect of the legal domain, combined with the excessively long working hours and the stakes of the decisions, makes the legal environment a toxic place as far as mental health is concerned.
The debt of law school, the pressure of a billable hour, and the competitive nature of the sphere are all contributing factors to depression. Many attorneys are stuck in professions that require them to give all but offer little fulfillment to the individual.
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance
Often invisible workers, custodial staff face physical demands, exposure to chemicals, and typically work when others aren’t around, leading to isolation. The nature of the work can feel thankless, with efforts only noticed when something goes wrong.
Such employees often hold multiple jobs to sustain themselves and are usually exhausted from their work, leaving them with little time to take care of themselves. The physical strains, poor remuneration, and invisibility (socially) add to the elevated depression.
Disclosure line: This article was developed with the assistance of AI and was subsequently reviewed, revised, and approved by our editorial team.
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