Need to hit a deadline by 3pm this afternoon? Boss screaming at you as to why the pitch you promised a week ago still hasn’t materialised and the client’s sitting in reception? Well, welcome to “stress town” and be safe in the knowledge a new study has found deadline affected workers are the most stressed employees of all.

That’s right, a new survey by US career site CareerCast has found the most common cause of stress in the workplace is pressing deadlines (with 30 per cent of respondents agreeing it was the biggest single cause of stress in their working lives). You can check out the full CareerCast study here.

The second most common cause of work stress was being responsible for the lives of others (17 per cent), followed by competitiveness (10.2 per cent), and physical demands (8.4 per cent).

According to the study, respondents based their stress levels on travel, physical demands, environmental conditions, hazards encountered, meeting the public, competitiveness, own life at risk, life of another at risk, deadlines and working in the public eye

The latest CareerCast study follows on from a similar one released in mid-January – and reported on B&T –  that looked into stressful careers.  Of its top 10 most worrisome jobs, three media-specific careers made the list  – broadcaster at 10, PR exec at nine, and newspaper reporter at six.

It’s top 10 included:

10) Broadcaster
9) Taxi driver
8) Public relations executive
7) Senior corporate executive
6) Newspaper reporter
5) Event co-ordinator  
4) Police officer
3) Airline pilot 
2) Firefighter
1) Military personnel

The new CareerCast study – admittedly not media/marketing specific (and US focused) – found that the average worker slogged it out for 47 hours per week and most respondents spend 40 per cent of their working lives dealing with stress at work.

Interestingly, some 59 per cent of those surveyed for the CareerCast study said they’d quit their jobs if they could; however, the thought of retraining and starting again from scratch was the prime reason most stayed put.

Commenting on the study, CareerCast’s Kyle Kensing said: “There isn’t much you can do about reducing stress if you are on the front lines and responsible for the lives of others aside from changing careers.

“However, if deadlines are causing undue stress at work, ask your supervisor for additional resources to help with the project or find out if timelines can be relaxed to find some relief.”