Opticians take strain as stress levels rise

Research this week from Barclaycard Business reveals that stress levels among medical retailers, including opticians and dentists, is the highest of all retail sectors.

The survey, of more than 1,000 retailers across the UK, discovered some six out of 10 (63 per cent) find their jobs stressful, compared to 37 per cent in the travel and wholesale sectors. The figure for medical retailers is 22 per cent higher than the national average for all retailers and 44 per cent of medical retailers claim to be more stressed than a year ago.

Barclaycard added that the stress experienced by medical retailers was reflective of a national trend. More than a quarter of all retailers claimed that the health of the retail economy was a contributing factor to their stress levels.