Content moderators are front-line workers keeping digital spaces safe by filtering and removing harmful and unpleasant content. There is empirical evidence that the psychological demands in this role are can lead to distress. However, there is limited understanding of the mechanisms of this relationship. One possibility can be the nature of the role rather than the content which leads to this distress. Thus, here we aim to investigate the role of occupational stress, on content moderators. Through a survey, key occupational stressors and strains were measured with content moderators, using subscales of the Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised and open-ended questions. The results showed that content moderators scored significantly higher on all subscales (p < .001) except for Role Boundary and Responsibility. Significantly higher scores on Role Overload were reported by participants (t(112) = 3.38, p < 0.001) which overlapped considerably with the qualitative findings. Additionally, expanding on the significantly higher scores of psychological strain (T = 4572, p < .001), qualitative results of exposure to distressing content, user aggression, ethical dilemmas in decision-making which reflected the nuances involved in content moderation. These findings indicate significant organisational and individual factors associated with stress in the role of content moderation. Additionally, occupational stress-strain cannot be adequately measured using present scales as they do not capture the nuances of this complex job. Finally, future research should not only focus on poor mental health outcomes for content moderators but also explore occupational stressor-strain relationships.