APM reveals new survey results on International Men’s Day 2020

A new survey by APM to mark International Men’s Day (19 November), reveals that 57 per cent of men working in the project profession feel stressed as a result of their main project.

With England currently in the grip of a second national lockdown, concerns have been raised over the potential impacts of people’s mental health and wellbeing. The survey of over 1,000 project professionals, carried out for APM by research company Censuswide, discovered that the key factors causing stress among men in the project profession include:

• Feeling they have too much to do – cited by 39 per cent
• Work-life balance suffering due to their main project - cited by 35.9 per cent
• Unrealistic expectations from project stakeholders – cited by 35 per cent
• Their main project impacting their home life and personal relationships - cited by 24.8 per cent

It was discovered that the majority (62 per cent) of all project professionals surveyed – both men and women – currently feel stressed due to their main project. The most common cause of stress among female project managers is that they feel they have too much to do (49.85 per cent).

The survey also reveals that although the majority of male project professionals feel their employers are doing a good job in supporting mental health at work, over one quarter (25.4 per cent) of men and nearly a third (32.3 per cent) of women don’t think their workplace is doing enough.

Sharon De Mascia, a chartered occupational psychologist, said: “When men start to feel as though they are not coping, the last thing that they want is for other people to know.  This means that men are unlikely to seek help in the way that women do, so it is important for organisations to ensure that they have wellbeing offerings and support in place that meet the differing mental wellbeing needs of men and women.

We all need to monitor our stress levels and take action if they start to rise.  The key to managing stress is to understand our stressors as we can then find ways to reduce or eliminate them. Keeping things in perspective helps avoid us becoming overwhelmed and taking exercise or using active relaxation such as mindfulness or yoga can be very helpful in reducing the symptoms of stress.”

APM has carried out studies into the wellbeing of project professionals, as well as publishing blogs containing mental health advice. 

APM’s branches also host virtual social events to help people working in project management stay connected.  

Sharon De Mascia, is the Director of Cognoscenti Business Psychologists Ltd. She is a chartered occupational psychologist, registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.