Quick answer: Insulation and Home Improvement Installers are moderately stress-exposed compared with other Australian occupations — ranked #186 of 317 by workplace mental health hazard exposure, with a composite stress score of 45.7/100 against a national average of 47.4. The biggest drivers are physical environment and lack of control.
Insulation and Home Improvement Installers 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 demands30.3 vs 37.9 avg
- Responsibility burden58.8 vs 60 avg
- Pace and demands52.4 vs 56 avg
- Lack of control32.4 vs 24.5 avg
- Precision and monotony50.2 vs 67.7 avg
- Physical environment50.3 vs 38.2 avg
Scores range 0–100; higher = more stress-inducing. Source: SafeWork Australia Beta Occupational Hazards Dataset.
What drives the score for insulation and home improvement installers
Compared with the average Australian occupation, insulation and home improvement installers score furthest above the norm on physical environment (50.3 vs 38.2 average) and lack of control (32.4 vs 24.5 average). The single biggest individual stress factor is time pressure at 76/100 — against an all-occupation average of 71.6.
The occupation scores below the national average for precision and monotony (50.2 vs 67.7), emotional demands (30.3 vs 37.9) and pace and demands (52.4 vs 56), which moderates the overall ranking.
See how this compares across all 317 Australian occupations, ranked by stress score.
The biggest stress factors for insulation and home improvement installers
- 1Pace and demands
Time Pressure
76/100
All-occupation average: 71.6
- 2Physical environment
Very Hot or Cold Temperatures
75.8/100
All-occupation average: 32.4
- 3Physical environment
Sounds and Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable
68.8/100
All-occupation average: 52.3
- 4Pace and demands
Frequency of Decision Making
66.5/100
All-occupation average: 70.7
- 5Responsibility burden
Responsible for Others' Health and Safety
64.8/100
All-occupation average: 57.3
All 22 stress factors for insulation and home improvement installers
The complete scorecard: every stress factor measured for this occupation, grouped into the six categories, with the all-occupation average alongside.
Emotional demands
30.3 vs 37.9 avg- Deal With Physically Aggressive People2.8 vs 14
- Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People39.5 vs 50.4
- Frequency of Conflict Situations48.8 vs 49.3
Responsibility burden
58.8 vs 60 avg- Responsibility for Outcomes and Results62.2 vs 58.5
- Responsible for Others' Health and Safety64.8 vs 57.3
- Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results63.8 vs 70.4
- Consequence of Error40.8 vs 49
- Coordinate or Lead Others62.2 vs 64.9
Pace and demands
52.4 vs 56 avg- Time Pressure76 vs 71.6
- Duration of Typical Work Week49.5 vs 62.1
- Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment31.2 vs 23.1
- Frequency of Decision Making66.5 vs 70.7
- Level of Competition38.5 vs 52.4
Lack of control
32.4 vs 24.5 avg- Lack of Autonomy to Make Decisions26.5 vs 23.6
- Amount of Highly Structured Work38.2 vs 25.3
Precision and monotony
50.2 vs 67.7 avg- Importance of Repeating Same Tasks38.2 vs 56.9
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate62.2 vs 78.6
Physical environment
50.3 vs 38.2 avg- Sounds and Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable68.8 vs 52.3
- Extremely Bright or Inadequate Lighting47.2 vs 24.9
- Very Hot or Cold Temperatures75.8 vs 32.4
- Exposed to Disease or Infections1.5 vs 20.2
- Physical Proximity58.2 vs 61.1
Understand these hazards
The elevated stress categories for insulation and home improvement installers map to recognised psychosocial work factors under ISO 45003 and Australian WHS legislation. Learn what each one is and how it can be controlled:
- Autonomy →The degree of control workers have over how they do their work.
- Physical Environment →How the physical conditions of work affect psychological wellbeing.
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
Insulation and Home Improvement Installers: how stressful is the job?
Insulation and Home Improvement Installers rank #186 out of 317 Australian occupations for workplace mental health hazards, with a composite stress score of 45.7/100 against a national average of 47.4. That makes the occupation more stress-exposed than 41.3% of Australian jobs.
What are the biggest mental health stress factors for insulation and home improvement installers?
The highest-scoring hazards are time pressure (76/100), very hot or cold temperatures (75.8/100) and sounds and noise levels are distracting or uncomfortable (68.8/100). Overall, the occupation scores above the national average in lack of control and physical environment.
Which stress factors are lower for insulation and home improvement installers?
Insulation and Home Improvement Installers score below the national average for emotional demands (30.3 vs 37.9 average) and responsibility burden (58.8 vs 60 average) and pace and demands (52.4 vs 56 average) and precision and monotony (50.2 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 insulation and home improvement installers. 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.