As many as three quarters of Britons feel that their job places a large amount of stress on them, even to the point of aging them, yet only a third would consider moving to a less stressful job.

Research by Remescar into British attitudes towards beauty, with a focus on how work life can impact appearances, saw 2,401 Britons quizzed about their work life and the toll it took on their appearance. All respondents were aged 18 and over and had been in full time employment for at least the past 12 months.

Initially all respondents were asked ‘Do you feel that your job places a large amount of stress on you?’ to which 75 per cent of respondents felt that theirs did. When asked if they’d consider moving sector to a less stressful or demanding job, a third (32 per cent) admitted that ‘yes’ they would.

The top reasons to stay put in a stressful job were because the workers ‘love their job’ (47 per cent), ‘get on well with colleagues’ (33 per cent) or ‘have a good salary’ (20 per cent).

All respondents were then asked to state what industry / sector they were in and how many years they felt their job added on, or took off, from their appearance. Once all of the responses were collated, the results showed that the following five industries were the biggest culprits for aging employees prematurely;

On the opposite end of the scale, those who worked in hair & beauty felt their job made them look on average six years younger, whilst those in health & fitness felt they looked on average four years younger.

Of those who felt they looked older than their real age thanks to their job, 68 per cent stated that they regularly have to work longer hours than they are contracted to and 71 per cent admitted that they spend time worrying about work outside of work hours.

Carien Veldhuis, marketing manager at Remescar, said: “There are a whole variety of factors that can impact our looks; our genes, our lifestyle – such as whether we drink or smoke – but stress can definitely have an impact too. Stress from within our families, stress with regards to our finances and stress within our day jobs are all things which can take their toll.

“It’s interesting to see which workers feel their jobs make them look older, or even younger. We can only begin to imagine the level of stress that comes from working within healthcare, having people’s lives in your hands on a daily basis, working in education, shaping future generations, and with construction it’s all about meeting deadlines and working outside in all weathers.

“That’s not to say that those working in hair & beauty don’t experience a high level of stress too, they’re just fortunate that it doesn’t show as much through their appearance.”