The least stressful job in SA happens to pay well

We now know Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and Refiloe ‘Cassper Nyovest’ Phoolo make loads of money with every gig, and it appears they do it without the stress you’d expect to come with that sort of income.

In the midst of accusations that rapper AKA was campaigning for the ANC for the money, he shared with his fans that he was not doing it for the money, as he could make R30 000 from a 30-minute performance.

As reports also claimed that the One Time hitmaker was the richest hip-hop artist in Mzansi, his rival Cassper Nyovest came out to dispute the claims, saying he had made R8 million from his performances alone.

Read more: How much it costs to book Cassper Nyovest

But with all the pressure that comes with being a musician in an industry that is constantly changing, have you wondered how stressful it could be just to stay relevant and keep selling records?

A recent survey conducted by Pharma Dynamics has revealed the careers that rank among the most stressful in South Africa, and obviously, being a musician is also in the top 10.

Almost 2 000 people living and working in the country participated in the online survey that measured job-related stress based on several stress triggers.

Physical and mental demands of a job, deadlines, how much travelling is required, working hours, being exposed to public scrutiny, dealing with conflict and the type of risks associated with various professions, are said to be contributing factors, the survey reveals.

The findings reveal that being a pilot was the most stressful job in the country due to the high degree of personal risk the job poses to themselves and passengers. The long working hours were also said to have been a contributing factor.

With the job being demanding and competitive, you’d think musicians spent most of their money of stress-relieving programmes, but no. The survey reveals that being a singer is the least stressful job in the country, and it happens to pay well too.

These are the 10 most stressful jobs in Mzansi, according to the survey:

Occupation              Average stress score
Pilot                               3.74
Hairstylist                   3.00
Farmer                          2.98
Film director               2.89
Nurse                            2.89
Police officer               2.86
Corporate executive  2.79
CEO                              2.79
Doctor                          2.74
Singer                           2.71

We are not sure how reliable their study is, as rapper Jabulani Tsambo, popularly known as HHP, once revealed in an interview with Gareth Cliff that he had tried to commit suicide three times, and one of the reasons was his music career, which he thought was not doing well at the time.

Read more: Why HHP tried to commit suicide three times