The Project Manager profession is in demand.

Demand for project managers over the next 10 years is growing faster. By 2027, the project management base labor resources requirement is expected to grow by 33 percent or nearly 22 million new jobs.

 As the size and complexity of a project increases, the required performance level also skyrockets and this demanding process has a byproduct called “Project Management Stress”. That project requires. Project management is a set of people skills, processes, and tools that are used together by the project managers to have the right information, at the right time, to make the right decision.

 Basically, the Project Manager needs to manage three flows of the project. That is the flow of resources, the flow of information, and the financial flow. It ensures projects overcome common obstacles like, inaccurate forecasting, manual data input, or storage errors, improper resource allocation, misplaced budget, or schedule optimism, lacking enough data to make informed decisions.

While managing the project, a project manager exposed to various demand situation which requires a various set of skills, ranging from core technical to people management skills. All these situations lead to the continuous production of project management stress as a byproduct while project is being managed , impacting the project manager and project team as well.

So, yes project management is a stressful job, and managing the stress among the project team (including the project manager) is one of the critical responsibilities of the Project manager.

 However, it can be a really fun and rewarding job for the person who loves to engage with people, follow the process, and utilize the tools to solve project problems.

Type of stress in Project Management

Let’s have a better understanding of project management stress type, the reason for stress, and how it can be managed efficiently.  As a project manager, you may be responsible for one or, more often, several projects. This can bring a lot of stress and disrupt your work/life balance.

Broadly speaking, there are five different types of project management stress which project manager faces while managing the project.

1. Time stress– Time is the essence of any project and on-time delivery of each deliverable is critical for the project’s success. And when I say deliverable, it’s not only the final product. Often the project is obligated to deliver output in a phased manner throughout the project timeline.
2. Cost Stress – Financial performance is a must for any project. Remember, the fundamental purpose of most projects is to either make money or save money.
3. Situational stress– Project Management is the integration of various knowledge areas and cross-functional teams. This generates various types of tough situations and to resolve such issues needs selective skills and efforts. This situation could be as common as some safety incidents at the site, disputes, personal issues, office politics, and so on.
4. Encounter stress– Communication management with various stakeholders of the project is the key activities, which you would be performing on daily basis. If you are worried about approaching people to get the job done or not comfortable with unpleasant feelings or conversion, then it going to be a tough journey for you.
5. Anticipatory stress– Projects are continuously bombarded with various kinds of risks like Schedule risks, Cost risks, Customer, and other stakeholder issues. This risk adds up to the stress level.

What are the common causes of stress in project management?

Every project is unique and different in some way. However, the number of projects, site location, team size, project value ($), and project complexity are directly proportional to the level of stress a project manager can experience on the project. These all can be the root cause of project management stress.

Some of the common causes of project management stress are micromanagement of project work, Ill-defined technically speciation, unfeasible customer requirements,

Inadequately trained staff, too much overtime and overload, Information silos or unavailability, Co-worker and cross-function level disputes, project deadlines, management targets. In the world of construction, environmental condition like extreme temperatures and inclement weather can be the cause of stress. Hazards incidents at construction sites come with a unique set of risks that are not found at a standard desk job.

Deadlines & constraints while managing multiple projects, all with strict deadlines and budgets, is inherently stressful. Project managers have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their team, and of themselves, each and every day they go to work.

Travel is one of the major causes of stress. Project managers don’t always have the luxury of a standard commute; they must travel to the work site as required.

Can we get rid of project management stress?

Stress is the intrinsic nature of every project and cannot eradicate fully from a project. For project managers, it is always about finding the right balance between negative and positive stress. So, what are positive and negative stress?

Well, in short, A job with too much stress leads to burnout and a job with no stress can be mind-numbingly boring.

In psychological community refers to positive stress as Eustress. It gives you that extra burst of adrenaline to meet deadlines and accomplish goals. Eustress helps with motivation, mental alertness, and efficiency.

Negative stress or distress is what we identify as stress. Distress has negative implications that include anxiety, decreased productivity, and physical and mental problems.

If you look at the Yerkes-Dodson curve, you will notice that little levels of stress are expected for optimal performance. But excessive stress can cause breakdown and impact your job and work-life balance.

A key takeaway from the Yerkes-Dodson optimal performance curve is that as your levels of stress or arousal increase, your productivity increases until it hit the limits. When someone hits the stress limit, they feel overwhelmed, cranky, and negative.

The experience of project management stress impacts the cognitive and behavioral performance of project managers. To perform at high-cognitive levels, project managers need to have distinct stress-reduction strategies that they can apply in the workplace.

Strategies to reduce the project management stress

youProject managers and leaders should make it their responsibility to use the right people, processes, and tools to help their team. This will help them to monitor & control the project management stress as effectively. As a Project Manager, first, you should acknowledge that problem. Learning to manage stress successfully begins with our willingness to take an honest view of ourselves.

Many techniques can help to manage stress. There is no one-size-fits-all technique and no technique will be able to eliminate stress totally. Each person must decide what will work best for him or her.

A few techniques should be explored to determine which works best for Project Management stress  on your project and once you found some strategies that work, commitment to practicing them is the key for managing stress.

Here are the top 15 strategies you can use as a project manager to help your team manage stress:

1. Find the root cause of the problem. Take a minute to calm down and understand what’s causing it. Start by identifying the root cause of your problems. Doing “brain dump” is a good idea too. Try writing your thoughts, in order to observe your internal commentary and understanding of situations.
2. Transform how you’re working. Maybe it’s time for you to change your approach entirely. You can try a different process for your work or consult with an experienced colleague and get their advice. You could start by tackling the most pressing challenges which are in front of you, or at least get the tasks done which you already know are going to be easy to complete.
3. Learn to handle interruptions. Interruptions are inevitable but learning to cope with them effectively or to dismiss them, when necessary, can eliminate the day-to-day stress associated with being interrupted.
4. Maintain a positive workspace. Keep your work area clean and consider adding personal touches like family photographs or sports memorabilia to create a more positive and uplifting work environment.
5. Communicate effectively. Effective communication can help avoid potential confusion, mix-ups, and unnecessary delays – all of which contribute to stress.
6. Recognize the signs of stress in your project team. Project managers need to be aware of the signs of stress in their team members. If you notice a lot more stress when project review (weekly, quarterly) is approaching then it indicates that your project management process is missing some critical component of the timely report.
7. Detach or dissociate. Consider the team meeting in which you are extremely frustrated by seeing wasted time or the personal posturing of a team member. To use detachment or dissociation, allow yourself to mentally “check out” of the meeting as much as is appropriate, letting your mind wander to a more pleasant image. Obviously, these approaches are used selectively and discretely.
8. Monitor “what if?” thinking. In the middle of a stressful event, it is natural to engage in “what if thinking” by asking ourselves, “What if we’d only done this in the past, then we might not be in this crisis right now?” As is evident, this form of “what if” thinking involves a focus that is not present-oriented.
9. Develop potent conflict resolution skills. We add stress to our work lives by either under-reacting to the stressful situation (avoiding or denying it) or overreacting to the stressful situation (coming on too strong). Both approaches increase our stress.
10. Know when enough is enough, and stay away from debating. A natural but often unproductive approach to resolving a stressful situation is to debate another person about the wisdom of your point of view.
11. Get rid of micromanagement habits. Consider whether or not you are currently involved in these activities. What impact it could have on other tasks and if you are really required to get involved in the issue?
12. Do not overcommit. Make a commitment to taking small and reasonable steps toward some level of involvement in relevant project activities.
13. Prioritize your tasks. Put up a priority matrix and assign every task based on its urgency and importance. Focus on the tasks that are urgent and important. Don’t overwhelm yourself by worrying about your entire workload. Focus on important tasks that matter. Continuously evaluate the situation by asking what activities you really care about.
14. Avoid extreme reactions. Why hate when a little dislike will do? Why generate anxiety when you can be nervous? Why rage when anger will do the job? Why be depressed when you can just be sad?
15. Create a work/life balance. Learn to unplug your computer, turn off your phone and ignore your inbox. Be present in the life you have outside of work when you step off the job site.

Managing “project management stress” is all about functioning at our highest levels on cognitive tasks and in interpersonal transactions. The focus should be on reducing stress, and therefore in functioning at our highest levels, should be directed toward what we as individuals contribute to making project work less stressful.

Some unique personal attributes may help us to avert certain risks of developing stress. The goal is not to change what a person is, but to make sure the Project manager actively develops strategies for minimizing or controlling the triggers of increased stress.

And remember managing stress while working on the project is an ongoing process toward maximizing performance through experimentation.

Conclusion

A project manager exposed to a various demanding situation which requires a various set of skills, ranging from core technical to people management skills. Due to this demanding situation, Project managers and their team are continuously exposed to stress. Project management is a stressful job and managing the stress is one of the critical responsibilities of a Project manager. The team should use the right people, processes, and tools to reduce “Project Management stress”.

Many techniques can help to manage stress. However, there is no one-size-fits-all technique. Each person must decide what will work best for him or her. Once they have found some strategies that work, commitment to practicing them is the key for managing stress.

Which strategy do you apply to manage stress in your project? Let me know by leaving a comment below right now.

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