I think there is a different type of stress for a developer. When you work physical labor especially jobs like the ones you describe they can be exhausting but

I think there is a different type of stress for a developer. When you work physical labor especially jobs like the ones you describe they can be exhausting but when you clock out that's it, your body and mind is then able to recharge and prepare for the next day. In addition, there are a limited number of variables you have to control for so the mental stress is reduced. This is not to reduce the stress on a job such as a gas line worker or someone for whom a mistake can mean disaster, but those risks are generally known, you dont really have to figure a lot of stuff out. When working in a field such as software, you take the stress home with you, you are constantly thinking about the job and the fact that if you cant figure out this issue that yo have been working on for 7 days the project is potentially going to fail or they are going to fire you. Many nights you kiss your family good night and then while they are asleep you sit slumped at your desk just trying to get a few more hours in before you collapse for 4 hours of sleep and then get up to do it again. This is obviously not all the time but it is for the most part at some time in all software jobs. In software and many white collar jobs the concept of work-life balance is really just an idea there is no clear delineation between work time and not work time.