Skip to main content
Occupational Stress Research

Advertising and Marketing Professionals: how stressful is the job?

Ranked #300 of 317 Australian occupations for workplace mental health hazards, with a composite stress score of 38.2/100. The biggest exposure is precision and monotony.

Composite stress score

38.2/100

National average: 47.4

Rank (most stressful)

#300 of 317

Australian ANZSCO occupations

More stress-exposed than

5.4% of occupations

By composite stress score

Quick answer: Advertising and Marketing Professionals are less stress-exposed than most Australian occupations — ranked #300 of 317 by workplace mental health hazard exposure, with a composite stress score of 38.2/100 against a national average of 47.4.

Advertising and Marketing Professionals stress profile vs the national average

Each occupation is scored across six categories of workplace mental health hazard, built from 22 stress factors identified in SafeWork Australia's occupational hazards data. Higher scores mean greater exposure.

Emotional demands27.6 vs 37.9 avg
Responsibility burden46.9 vs 60 avg
Pace and demands55.5 vs 56 avg
Lack of control15.2 vs 24.5 avg
Precision and monotony67.4 vs 67.7 avg
Physical environment16.8 vs 38.2 avg

Scores range 0–100; higher = more stress-inducing. Source: SafeWork Australia Beta Occupational Hazards Dataset.

What drives the score for advertising and marketing professionals

The occupation scores below the national average for physical environment (16.8 vs 38.2), responsibility burden (46.9 vs 60) and emotional demands (27.6 vs 37.9), which moderates the overall ranking.

See how this compares across all 317 Australian occupations, ranked by stress score.

The biggest stress factors for advertising and marketing professionals

  1. 1Precision and monotony

    Importance of Being Exact or Accurate

    85.8/100

    All-occupation average: 78.6

  2. 2Pace and demands

    Duration of Typical Work Week

    82.5/100

    All-occupation average: 62.1

  3. 3Pace and demands

    Time Pressure

    76/100

    All-occupation average: 71.6

  4. 4Responsibility burden

    Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results

    65.2/100

    All-occupation average: 70.4

  5. 5Responsibility burden

    Coordinate or Lead Others

    63/100

    All-occupation average: 64.9

All 22 stress factors for advertising and marketing professionals

The complete scorecard: every stress factor measured for this occupation, grouped into the six categories, with the all-occupation average alongside.

Emotional demands

27.6 vs 37.9 avg
  • Deal With Physically Aggressive People3.2 vs 14
  • Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People37 vs 50.4
  • Frequency of Conflict Situations42.5 vs 49.3

Responsibility burden

46.9 vs 60 avg
  • Responsibility for Outcomes and Results55.5 vs 58.5
  • Responsible for Others' Health and Safety14.2 vs 57.3
  • Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results65.2 vs 70.4
  • Consequence of Error36.2 vs 49
  • Coordinate or Lead Others63 vs 64.9

Pace and demands

55.5 vs 56 avg
  • Time Pressure76 vs 71.6
  • Duration of Typical Work Week82.5 vs 62.1
  • Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment3.2 vs 23.1
  • Frequency of Decision Making58 vs 70.7
  • Level of Competition57.5 vs 52.4

Lack of control

15.2 vs 24.5 avg
  • Lack of Autonomy to Make Decisions12 vs 23.6
  • Amount of Highly Structured Work18.5 vs 25.3

Precision and monotony

67.4 vs 67.7 avg
  • Importance of Repeating Same Tasks49 vs 56.9
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate85.8 vs 78.6

Physical environment

16.8 vs 38.2 avg
  • Sounds and Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable31.5 vs 52.3
  • Extremely Bright or Inadequate Lighting10.8 vs 24.9
  • Very Hot or Cold Temperatures5.8 vs 32.4
  • Exposed to Disease or Infections0 vs 20.2
  • Physical Proximity35.8 vs 61.1

Methodology

Clearhead scored 317 occupations in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) using SafeWork Australia's Beta Occupational Hazards Dataset. We kept only the 22 hazard variables relating to mental health — such as conflict exposure, decision-making pressure, and time pressure — and deliberately excluded physical safety risks like working at height.

The 22 variables are grouped into six categories: emotional demands, responsibility burden, pace and demands, lack of control, precision and monotony, and physical environment. An occupation's composite score is the equally weighted average of its six category scores. All scores run 0–100, where higher means more stress-inducing.

Two control-related variables are reported by SafeWork with inverted polarity (“freedom to make decisions” and “structured versus unstructured work”). We reverse these and present them as lack of autonomy to make decisions and amount of highly structured work, so that a higher score consistently indicates greater stress exposure.

Hazard exposure describes the average conditions of an occupation, not any individual's experience — everyone has a different tolerance for these challenges, and conditions vary between workplaces.

Frequently asked questions

Advertising and Marketing Professionals: how stressful is the job?

Advertising and Marketing Professionals rank #300 out of 317 Australian occupations for workplace mental health hazards, with a composite stress score of 38.2/100 against a national average of 47.4. That makes the occupation more stress-exposed than 5.4% of Australian jobs.

What are the biggest mental health stress factors for advertising and marketing professionals?

The highest-scoring hazards are importance of being exact or accurate (85.8/100), duration of typical work week (82.5/100) and time pressure (76/100).

Which stress factors are lower for advertising and marketing professionals?

Advertising and Marketing Professionals score below the national average for emotional demands (27.6 vs 37.9 average) and responsibility burden (46.9 vs 60 average) and pace and demands (55.5 vs 56 average) and lack of control (15.2 vs 24.5 average) and precision and monotony (67.4 vs 67.7 average) and physical environment (16.8 vs 38.2 average), which partially offsets the higher-scoring hazards.

Where does this data come from?

Scores are derived from SafeWork Australia's Beta Occupational Hazards Dataset. Clearhead filtered the dataset to the 22 mental-health-related hazard variables — excluding physical safety risks — and scored 317 ANZSCO occupations across six categories: emotional demands, responsibility burden, pace and demands, lack of control, precision and monotony, and physical environment.

Beyond the average

This is the average hazard exposure for advertising and marketing professionals. Your workforce isn't average.

Clearhead's Psychosocial Risk Pulse measures the actual psychosocial risk in your organisation, quarterly — across 18 ISO 45003-aligned work factors.

Clearhead Psychosocial Risk Pulse Tool

Know your industry's risks. Then measure your own.

Population-level data shows where the hazards concentrate — but psychosocial risk legislation requires you to identify and manage the risks in your own workforce. Clearhead's Psychosocial Risk Pulse gives you that evidence, quarterly.

Book a demo