Head chef is among most stressful jobs

Being a head chef in a large restaurant is one of the most stressful jobs, a new study has revealed.

For the report, King's College London carried out psychiatric assessments of nearly 1,000 young workers. It discovered a firm link between stressful working conditions and poor mental health, and found that one in 20 workers can expect to experience serious depression or anxiety every year as a direct result of their work.

The study found that one of the most highly pressured jobs is head chef at a large restaurant, largely due to chefs being subjected to constant inflexible deadlines and the possibility of very public failure should they make a mistake. Other highly stressful roles included slaughterers, construction workers and teachers.

Martin Couchman, deputy chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, said that, as a result of the high-paced environment in which they work, chefs and caterers may feel the pressure of high workloads and long hours more than other professional groups.

He said: "Head chefs are under constant demand to produce high-quality food under tight time frames, so the stress felt from this pressured environment is almost inevitable."

By Kerstin Kühn

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