More stress, more pay OR less stress, less pay?

How much of a pay cut would you take for much less stress?

I know it's hard to put a price tag on this, but if you had a cushy, stress-free job that pays well but you know you can do better, would you continue looking?

Re: More stress, more pay OR less stress, less pay?

Everyone's priorities are different but for me, I'd rather have the peace of mind of a lower-stress job. I took a small paycut (a few thousand) for a less stressful job & let me tell you it's the best thing I could have done for myself. And while I make less temporarily, in the long run I can move up & do better than I ever would have in my last career. So I guess it's just a matter of figuring out if you want the low stress or the more money & what your long-term goals are. For me it was a no brainer!

Re: More stress, more pay OR less stress, less pay?

ahhh...I struggle with this.....

it really would depend what AMOUNT we are talking, as far as difference in $.

I think as long as I really enjoyed what I was doing, even if the stress was super high, I'd go for more stress & more pay.

If it was a career/job/etc that I didn't really like or love, then I'd settle for less stress, less money.

Re: More stress, more pay OR less stress, less pay?

I wouldn't go for a higher stress job unless it made a tangible difference in my life.

Re: More stress, more pay OR less stress, less pay?

What if it's just a 20-30k difference in salary? And it means you'll have to deal with more difficult people and situations.

Honesty, I rationalize by saying that the less stressful one is better since it gives me more chance to live a full and rich life with less worries on both a professional and personal level.