Survey Reveals Project Managers’ High Stress Levels

A new survey has revealed that 40 per cent of Ireland’s 52,000 project managers have suffered from prolonged stress due to their work. The findings were announced by PM Summit, a conference for project, programme and portfolio management professionals. The study involved 407 project management professionals in Ireland from a broad range of sectors and was carried out with the assistance of Pan Research.

Results also revealed that 83 per cent of respondents have had no formal training in how to manage mental health issues, including stress, within their project teams. People in IT roles suffer most from stress, with 44 per cent reporting that they have suffered from prolonged work stress – that is, stress experienced for an extended period – followed by people in the architectural, engineering and construction field, where 39 per cent report this. Conversely, the stress levels of project managers in operations and logistics were low, with only 5 per cent revealing that they have suffered prolonged stress.

The survey shows that project managers aged 35-55 are the most stressed, with 43 per cent saying they’ve suffered with prolonged stress. This contrasts with project managers aged over 55, of whom less than a third (31 per cent) reported prolonged work-related stress.

Reflecting on the findings, Raymond Poole, CEO, PM Summit, commented: “When it comes to managing mental health issues within their project team, training is critical and this is borne out in the survey, which found that the least stressed category of project managers – the over 55s – have received the most training, with 31 per cent of these having received some formal training. This contrasts with the biggest sufferers of prolonged stress – the 35-55 year olds – of whom only 17 per cent have received some formal training.”

Pictured above: Raymond Poole, CEO, PM Summit and Vicky Poole, Director, PM Summit