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Occupational Stress Research

Roof Tilers: how stressful is the job?

Ranked #46 of 317 Australian occupations for workplace mental health hazards, with a composite stress score of 53.4/100. The biggest exposure is responsibility burden.

Composite stress score

53.4/100

National average: 47.4

Rank (most stressful)

#46 of 317

Australian ANZSCO occupations

More stress-exposed than

85.5% of occupations

By composite stress score

Quick answer: Roof Tilers are notably more stress-exposed than most Australian occupations — ranked #46 of 317 by workplace mental health hazard exposure, with a composite stress score of 53.4/100 against a national average of 47.4. The biggest drivers are physical environment and pace and demands.

Roof Tilers 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 demands36.6 vs 37.9 avg
Responsibility burden67.7 vs 60 avg
Pace and demands64.2 vs 56 avg
Lack of control28.1 vs 24.5 avg
Precision and monotony64.2 vs 67.7 avg
Physical environment59.6 vs 38.2 avg

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

What drives the score for roof tilers

Compared with the average Australian occupation, roof tilers score furthest above the norm on physical environment (59.6 vs 38.2 average), pace and demands (64.2 vs 56 average) and responsibility burden (67.7 vs 60 average). The single biggest individual stress factor is importance of being exact or accurate at 82/100 — against an all-occupation average of 78.6.

The occupation scores below the national average for precision and monotony (64.2 vs 67.7) and emotional demands (36.6 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 roof tilers

  1. 1Precision and monotony

    Importance of Being Exact or Accurate

    82/100

    All-occupation average: 78.6

  2. 2Responsibility burden

    Responsible for Others' Health and Safety

    80.8/100

    All-occupation average: 57.3

  3. 3Physical environment

    Very Hot or Cold Temperatures

    79.8/100

    All-occupation average: 32.4

  4. 4Pace and demands

    Time Pressure

    79.5/100

    All-occupation average: 71.6

  5. 5Physical environment

    Sounds and Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable

    77.8/100

    All-occupation average: 52.3

All 22 stress factors for roof tilers

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

Emotional demands

36.6 vs 37.9 avg
  • Deal With Physically Aggressive People12.5 vs 14
  • Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People48 vs 50.4
  • Frequency of Conflict Situations49.2 vs 49.3

Responsibility burden

67.7 vs 60 avg
  • Responsibility for Outcomes and Results68 vs 58.5
  • Responsible for Others' Health and Safety80.8 vs 57.3
  • Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results67.5 vs 70.4
  • Consequence of Error52.8 vs 49
  • Coordinate or Lead Others69.5 vs 64.9

Pace and demands

64.2 vs 56 avg
  • Time Pressure79.5 vs 71.6
  • Duration of Typical Work Week56 vs 62.1
  • Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment39.8 vs 23.1
  • Frequency of Decision Making72 vs 70.7
  • Level of Competition73.8 vs 52.4

Lack of control

28.1 vs 24.5 avg
  • Lack of Autonomy to Make Decisions30.2 vs 23.6
  • Amount of Highly Structured Work26 vs 25.3

Precision and monotony

64.2 vs 67.7 avg
  • Importance of Repeating Same Tasks46.5 vs 56.9
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate82 vs 78.6

Physical environment

59.6 vs 38.2 avg
  • Sounds and Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable77.8 vs 52.3
  • Extremely Bright or Inadequate Lighting59.2 vs 24.9
  • Very Hot or Cold Temperatures79.8 vs 32.4
  • Exposed to Disease or Infections4.2 vs 20.2
  • Physical Proximity77.2 vs 61.1

The elevated stress categories for roof tilers map to recognised psychosocial work factors under ISO 45003 and Australian WHS legislation. Learn what each one is and how it can be controlled:

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

Roof Tilers: how stressful is the job?

Roof Tilers rank #46 out of 317 Australian occupations for workplace mental health hazards, with a composite stress score of 53.4/100 against a national average of 47.4. That makes the occupation more stress-exposed than 85.5% of Australian jobs.

What are the biggest mental health stress factors for roof tilers?

The highest-scoring hazards are importance of being exact or accurate (82/100), responsible for others' health and safety (80.8/100) and very hot or cold temperatures (79.8/100). Overall, the occupation scores above the national average in responsibility burden, pace and demands, lack of control and physical environment.

Which stress factors are lower for roof tilers?

Roof Tilers score below the national average for emotional demands (36.6 vs 37.9 average) and precision and monotony (64.2 vs 67.7 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 roof tilers. 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.

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