Special report: Under pressure

There are no surprises here. Project management is stressful. Like in many other professions, stress is the price you pay for a frenetic, fast-paced and dynamic job. The pressure of delivering a project on time and on budget is never going to diminish – and let’s be honest, the excitement is what draws you to the job – but it shouldn’t come at the cost of your mental wellbeing.

“The stress level won’t go away, because that is the nature of working as a project manager. But how can you design a job, equip project managers with the proper skills and use their strengths to alleviate the stress that they encounter?” asks Dr Clara Cheung, a lecturer in project management at the University of Manchester. She led research, commissioned by APM, into the workplace wellbeing of project professionals.

The research measured project professionals’ mental wellbeing for the first time, benchmarking it against the general working population. It was based on data collected from 184 global APM members. Their average age was 38, and 55 per cent were female. The respondents work in construction (20 per cent), education (13 per cent), IT (12 per cent), logistics (10 per cent) and consulting (nine per cent). Their job titles include project or programme manager (35 per cent) and academic or trainer (16 per cent), with the rest describing themselves as project planners, project administrators and change managers.

Respondents were assessed on key workplace stress factors, and the survey revealed that the areas of highest psychological stress are ‘resources and communication’, ‘balanced workload’, ‘work relationships’ and ‘job conditions’.

Here, Project provides some practical advice for alleviating the pressure.

Resources and communication

According to the report, the stress caused by poor communication on a project can be attributed to a lack of feedback on performance. Project professionals feel stressed because they are unsure whether their work is progressing well against the project outcomes, and they cannot predict what should be done next.

It seems project managers feel that they should focus solely on task-oriented activities that directly advance the project, rather than also providing regular feedback to improve it. This must change.

Sharing project successes, recognising strong individual performance in weekly team meetings and conducting post-event reviews when things go wrong are good ways to start. “Unless you have direct communication, you don’t build the trust,” says Cheung.

It’s also about getting more frequent and immediate feedback from the client as the project runs its course. “Instead of always using the traditional waterfall method, can we shift the gears to learn something from agile project management?” Cheung asks.

The report also found that project professionals worry about whether they have the right training to be able to meet the performance standards set. More than half of respondents (55 per cent) have not acquired any project management qualifications. It is critical that organisations address this issue by offering project management training either in-house or externally.

Work relationships

Worryingly, Cheung found that project professionals do not feel they have enough support from their bosses and colleagues. Project managers can become stressed “if they don’t feel that senior managers have their back in terms of being able to flag things up and being listened to and respected,” notes project leadership coach, trainer and consultant Susanne Madsen. “Project managers are caught between executives and the teams, and they have all the pressures put onto them.”

A project team will often come up with an estimate of how long the work will take, only for the senior manager or sponsor to say they need it done sooner. “That is extremely stressful, because the team might know that it’s not achievable, or there might be a lack of resources in the organisation, so they have to commit to timescales knowing they don’t have the team fully resourced,” Madsen adds.

The report suggests that things could be improved by providing training for all project team members on how to build relationships and intrinsic motivation, create positive emotional work environments and practise active and constructive listening skills. “People need more training in basic people management,” agrees Cheung.

Balanced workload

Project managers are particularly susceptible to burnout, because they have to perform in crisis-ridden environments and are under pressure to be available 24/7. The research identified excessive time spent travelling as a serious issue for project managers, including business travel, the daily commute and frequent project site visits.

However, this can be alleviated by offering project professionals intermittent overnight stays, flexible start and end times so they can commute at less congested times, or compressed working (four longer work days per week, rather than the standard five, for example).

When it comes to using technology, the report recommends project professionals be given training in making the best use of the tools available to them, while Madsen suggests that individuals should be firm in not checking emails in the evening and at weekends.

Job satisfaction

The report flags up a number of ways to improve project professionals’ job satisfaction. These include: clearly defining and communicating the purpose of the project and supporting professionals to align their personal motives with it; allowing team members to redefine how they get the work done and to consider innovative ways to share work; and implementing strengths assessments and management.

Taking a strengths-based management approach is particularly important, says Cheung. Instead of focusing on fixing weaknesses to prevent project failure, a project professional should be encouraged to identify and play to their strengths. “Even if your employer isn’t willing to do it, you can still proactively use your strengths in your work,” she says.

Setting boundaries

“You can put two people in the same situation, and one will find it very stressful and the other will not,” says Madsen. Managing stress comes down to knowing your limits and then protecting your boundaries. “What are you willing to do and not willing to do? You need enough self-respect and self-acceptance to say that you are not willing to work weekends or take work home more than one night a week… [but] it’s not about being rigid, it’s about knowing that if you work until 8pm every night, you will burn out.”

If you feel that your boundaries have been breached, then you must have a conversation with your manager about it, advises Madsen: “Not in an accusatory way, and it’s not about being selfish and leaving the team to do all of the hard work. It’s about having an open conversation to say: ‘This is not healthy for me or the team. What can we do to replan the project, or what extra support do we need?’”

Emma Mamo, head of workplace wellbeing at mental health charity Mind, says that you must be assertive. “It doesn’t matter how busy things get. Say no if you can’t take on extra demands, and ask your manager to clarify which tasks you should be prioritising.”

Time to recover

You can only work as hard as you can recover. “Recovery looks different to every person. Some people need alone time, other people need time with their family, or to socialise or go running,” says Madsen.

During times of high stress, you must look after yourself by exercising (ideally outdoors) and eating well. Mamo recommends avoiding working long hours. “It might help to get urgent work done in the short term, but consistently working long hours can leave you frazzled and reduce your productivity.”

You must also take proper breaks and leave work at work. “Take your lunch break and other regular breaks, making sure to get some fresh air if possible. Regardless of how much you have left to do, it’s really important to get away from work and clear your mind,” she says.

Try varying your activities. “Balance interesting tasks with more mundane ones, and stressful tasks with those you find easier or can do more calmly,” she adds.

Finding the right approach

“I’m a great fan of setting ground rules for a project,” says Madsen. “Talk about what you expect from each other on the project team. How are you going to work together? But it’s not for the project manager to do that. You need to have a collaborative session where everybody brainstorms what a good work environment looks like. How do you communicate with each other? How do you have meetings? How do you share your stresses?” Project leaders should set the right tone by showing it’s acceptable to talk about your feelings.

Madsen mentions that some project teams have a Friday afternoon ‘huddle’ to get things off their chests: “Just sharing it, getting it out there and not looking for someone to solve it can work.”

Above all, it’s about sticking to good project management practice. “When we don’t use the methods that we know work, take the estimates seriously and create realistic resource planning, then we end up in stressful situations. We have to use project management best practice to plan our projects in the best possible way,” Madsen says.

Employers have a duty of care towards the wellbeing of their employees, and some are already experimenting with training mental health first-aiders to champion good working practices and support individuals who may be under too much stress. Many large companies also offer their staff employee-assistance programmes that include free expert counselling and support.

The warning signs

Mamo says that stress can negatively affect our physical and mental health and lead to, or worsen, things such as depression and anxiety. “Your first clues about being stressed might be physical signs, such as tiredness, headaches or an upset stomach. If you feel that work stress is having a negative impact on your mental wellbeing, then speak to somebody about it: your line manager, HR or your GP. If you’re finding this daunting, it’s worth heading to mind.org.uk/findthewords.” Remember: don’t put up, speak up.

Supporting employee wellbeing

“Resilience is very important,” says Sarah Bostock, head of global people capability and professionalism at Rolls-Royce.

She says Rolls-Royce is piloting a tool called Pascal, which is a holistic health and wellbeing tool. “We’re starting to have some high-quality conversations within the team to acknowledge that there are pressures both inside and outside of work that can have an impact. How do we then acknowledge those pressure points, and what do we do as a team to support one another through those areas?”

Speaking of how she manages her own stress, Bostock says that “during a project or if there’s an issue that’s quite tricky, you can lose a bit of perspective. Just taking a step back, having a conversation and getting some objective insights from someone else can be really helpful. Also, just be conscious of work-life balance. I’ve noticed I’ve been burning the hours and that has had an impact on my health, so it’s about being mindful and taking the time to recharge. It sounds a bit clichéd, but make sure you do some exercise, eat well, sleep and switch off the laptop at a reasonable hour.”

Personal advice from the top

Trevor Jones, an APM Fellow in his mid-50s who has spent the past 15 years in senior roles in logistics and supply chains, left full-time employment 16 months ago to become a consultant.

“Projects are quite exciting, but they come with risks that I don’t think individuals or businesses recognise enough,” he says. “Personally, I suffered stress from spending far too long in a high-pressure project delivery environment without a break in my career. I carried that stress to the point that it was unhealthy.”

He cautions project professionals against running on overdrive for too long. “Driven people run the risk of not realising the impact they are having on themselves. Take notice of the signs, and be aware of what your body and mind are telling you. Plan time out from major change roles, because they burn deep into your natural reserves.”

It’s easy to be consumed by the role, he adds. “Ensure you only take on what you can reasonably cover and leave some gaps in your capacity, otherwise an unexpected event could make you feel as though the world has stopped spinning. If you don’t take care of your energy reserves, you will be caught out one day.”

He argues that the profession needs to get more people talking about this subject, especially men. “We’re not good at talking about mental wellbeing,” he says.

Spotting the warning signs

Mike Belch, associate director at consultancy RSM, has been in the project management world for 15 years. However, he found himself in very stressful circumstances in 2006 when his father was dying of cancer while he was setting up a new project management office for a global IT company. With lots of travel, working 18 hours a day, and as a husband and father of two, his work and personal life started to suffer.

“I didn’t know what stress was and that I should start saying no to some things. I just took everything on, because I’m the big man, right? Everything was wrong – all of the classic symptoms of stress: pain, sleeplessness, irritability and work performance issues.”

Luckily, his manager spotted what was going on and sent him on a stress management course. “It was utterly life-changing,” says Belch. “I suspect if I’d had a different manager, I was probably at the point where I would have lost my job. She was really understanding.”

He advocates that projects should have at least one person to go through some sort of mental health training. “Every single RSM office has multiple trained mental health first-aiders,” he says. “Every project management office or major project should have a mental health champion to make sure there are people who can be constantly looking for problems. When they start to see those performance issues, they can do something.” This could be a conversation with the individual or with the project leader.

If the pressure is set at the right level, projects can be a pleasure, Belch adds. “I think there is a real joy in working in a pressured environment. I think that when you have deadlines and when you and your team can hit those easily, when you can anticipate and respond to problems easily, it feels great. There’s no bigger thrill professionally than getting it right, and pressure gives you that forward momentum. As long as everybody can cope with it, it’s a good thing.”

Author: Emma De Vita