5 Low-Stress Jobs to a Create Perfect Work-Life Balance

Let’s be honest — life has been pretty tough for everyone lately, with all that’s been going on in the world. Now’s a great time to look at changes you can make to improve your mental wellbeing. 

Making a move to a low-stress job can ease some of this pressure and create a healthy balance in your life.

Excessive demands and pressures in a high-stress job can come from many angles. Sometimes the workload is too heavy, or the hours are too long. Sometimes expectations don’t match your abilities, or senior management doesn’t support you effectively. 

Whatever the reason, work-related stress can lead to terrible anxiety and foster poor mental health. It can cause you to feel overwhelmed, lead to burnout, affect your self-esteem and ultimately affect your work performance — perpetuating a cycle of negativity that can be hard to break free from. 

CareerCast has conducted research and analysis to develop a list of jobs and rank them depending on stress factors. Using a point system, the stress factors they used were:

So, what are the most stress-free jobs, what do they pay, and how do you get one? Here are five of the least stressful jobs that don’t require a degree.

Note: All job growth data sourced from JobOutlook.gov.au unless otherwise noted.

Working in either a team or as a self-employed stylist, hairstylists work in a salon environment providing hair styling and hair treatments for a diverse range of clients. For those who love creativity and socialising, a role as a hairstylist can be the perfect job.

Hairdressing salons are designed to be relaxing and comfortable for their clients — and as a hairstylist, you can take advantage of the zen atmosphere. The gentle hum of casual chat and music is often present, and vibes are usually positive when customers take time for self-care.

A medical records technician (or clerk) maintains and manages records in a healthcare setting, such as reports, client information and test results. They ensure all written and electronic databases are kept up to date and accurate. 

If you feel at home in a quiet office, get a kick out of organisation and love an immaculate filing system, this job can be pure joy. Unlike medical receptionists, medical record technicians are usually in the back of the business, head down and just getting on with the tasks at hand. 

Jewellers use their creativity and artistic abilities to create jewellery from various materials. Do you have a flair for making small and intricate things? If you like to take your time and perfect them down to the smallest detail, you’d thoroughly enjoy this job.

Usually a solitary task, jewellers take their time to ensure each piece is just right. This requires a calm workplace and time allowed to finish each project to perfection, which helps to keep stress levels down.

Massage therapists use specialised techniques to manipulate the soft tissue in the body to treat stress, pain and injuries. Massage therapy is best suited to people who love to help others and make people feel their best.

Massage therapy usually takes place in a clinic or spa setting. These atmospheres are typically set up for calm and relaxation and make for a low-stress work environment. 

Under the supervision of a pharmacist, a pharmacy technician fills out prescription labels, performs administration and record-keeping tasks, and assists patients with their pharmaceutical needs. 

This role is perfect for people who love to help others and work within the community to improve health and wellbeing.

Stress levels in a job will vary from person to person, and from workplace to workplace. Here are some other professions that — for the right person —  can be less stressful than most: 

(Median salaries will vary)

The findings from CareerCast indicate that the following are the high-paying jobs that are also low-stress:

All of these roles that pay well require tertiary education to at least a bachelor’s degree level.

Looking for more high-paying positions without the uni degree? Check out these other articles on the highest-paying blue-collar jobs in Australia, the highest-paid TAFE qualifications and how to earn $100k per year without a degree.

Apprenticeships are often the easiest way to get into the job you want. You can start working straight away and earn while you learn. 

From the data provided by CareerCast, these are the low-stress jobs with apprenticeships available:

Take a deep-dive into 22 of the best jobs that don’t require experience.

Often roles that are not customer-facing are less stressful and less likely to exacerbate anxiety. Below are jobs that generally are not dealing with the public day-to-day.

Discover 12 of the most fun and 5 of the most satisfying jobs around.

All jobs have the potential to cause even a little bit of stress. There are techniques and help available to those who need strategies to keep the pressure under control — but you can get yourself in a great position with a new job that you love, brings you balance and doesn’t leave you wide awake at night, dreading what is to come for your next workday.

With options to study full or part-time and flexible curriculum delivery options, a short course could be just what you need to get started.