While everyone experiences stress, the nature of project management means that managers are arguably particularly susceptible to it. Project managers must constantly work to control and deliver projects under the taxing “triple restraints” of time, cost and scope and juggle multiple priorities to drive the project.

If not guarded against, stress can lead to negative consequences for project delivery and, much more importantly, to deterioration in project managers’ and colleagues’ physical and mental health. So what is stress in project management and how can stress levels be managed as effectively as projects?

What causes stress in project management?

Stress is defined as “any type of change that causes physical, emotional or psychological strain. Stress is your body’s response to anything that requires attention or action.” 

This is not to say that all stress is bad. The pioneering work of psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham in the early 20th century states there is an empirical relationship between stress and performance. There is an optimal level of stress corresponding to an optimal level of performance, but once this is exceeded, performance levels drop sharply. As the World Health Organisation states, “the way you respond to stress makes a big difference to your overall well-being.”

Countless aspects of project management can act as incubators to grow stress levels. Commonly, bad bosses, dysfunctional companies, and hyper-critical customers can push project management stress to levels hazardous to health. 

 

Other causes of stress might be project issues such as: 

• • Excessive workloads possibly caused by scope creep

• • A lack of support and authority for project managers to make decisions 

• • Difficult to manage team members

• • Tough conversations that are sometimes required to get projects delivered.  
    
    

How does stress affect project delivery?

Stress can, of course, adversely affect the delivery of projects. Project managers need to know when to take a step back and stop stressing about work. While often requiring specific technical skills related to their area of business, project managers are required to display a range of soft skills which is practically impossible to do if experiencing excessive stress. 

Project management soft skills include; leadership, people management, delegation, and problem-solving skills – as well as displaying enthusiasm, which is so important in driving projects to delivery.

People suffering from stress-related issues commonly have mental symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, struggles to make decisions, feeling overwhelmed, constant worrying, and being forgetful. Coupled with some behavioral traits of overstressed people like being irritable and snappy, sleeping and eating too much or too little, and drinking more than is healthy – makes it hard for a project manager experiencing stress issues to fulfill their functions through displaying project management soft skills.

As well as looking after their own stress levels, the project manager must be also aware of those of the team to ensure the project reaches completion. It is imperative project managers are aware that stress is perceptive. People individually deduce what is stressful to them and similar situations can provoke different psychological reactions in different people. The project manager should keep an eye out for signs of stress which can hamper the performance of the team and the project as a whole.  

 

Stress-reducing attitudes 

Since stress perception is individual, it may be unwise to put forth broad-brush solutions for eliminating excess stress from projects. However, below are some mindsets or attitudes project managers can adopt that potentially can reduce stress effectively: 

• • Look forward – don’t dwell on decisions made earlier in the project cycle, while it is important to learn lessons. Don’t overfocus on the “what ifs?”, focus on the “what to dos”

• • Fine-tune conflict resolution skills – allowing issues to fester can create stressful situations for project managers and team members.

• • Make decisions with the head, not heart when assigning resources to projects – Project managers cannot make decisions based solely on their own popularity. Aiming at being universally loved can be at the expense of project delivery and can cause stress. 

• • Take time out – Slow down and give yourself the headspace to think things through. Taking time out can mean enjoying time with family, friends, and hobbies outside of work but it also can mean taking breaks during work time to give the mind time to think and process information.  

• • Keep Perspective – Decisions and issues that project managers face don’t stop the world from turning. Related to the above, taking a walk or some other type of time out can be invaluable in regaining perspective on the project’s overall place in the world. 

• Make a plan – and document progress and changes! Making, tracking and amending a project plan and taking notes of discussions can relieve stress by removing a degree of uncertainty for team members about their roles and tasks. A project manager can assist themselves, colleagues, and stakeholders by being clear on the project goals and how to get there by adhering to a clear plan.

• • Look for positives – a positive mindset is fundamental for project managers as well as remembering the strengths that saw them entrusted with the management position in the first place. Even adverse situations and difficult conversations are opportunities to learn and innovate.

Methods to reduce the stress of completing a project

Given the diversity of sources and manifestations of project management stress, there isn’t a ‘magic bullet’, a surefire way to reduce stress in all types of projects. Related to the above attitude on “making a plan” using a resource allocation tool like Weekwise, which shows project managers accurate resource capacity, could help. 

Below are some useful methods of reducing stress, based also on the suggestions of the Project Management Institute. These fall under three broad categories: 

1. 1. Positive psychology – Related to the above ‘look for positives’ attitude, Positive psychology takes learning from what on the face of it may be a negative situation. The project manager challenges themselves to find at least one positive outcome from a difficult project issue. For instance, in dealing with a difficult team member, the project manager can choose to focus on the opportunity to develop more assertive skills in handling a difficult conversation. 

2. 2. Cognitive Behavioural Strategies – These strategies are approaches to managing stress that say how we think impacts how we feel, which in turn impacts how we act. Therefore, project managers should try to modify how they think about a stressful situation in order to feel differently about it, and ultimately react differently to the situation. An example of this is a project manager focusing strongly on the aspects of a project which their team can influence, rather than reflecting on things they don’t have control over.

3. 3. Flow activities – This is the concept of being involved with a personal ‘flow activity’ as a method of stress control. Flow activities can be music, reading, running, woodworking, travel, or such. According to this method, project managers should ask themselves what activities they really care about and consider whether or not they are currently involved in these activities. They should then ward off stress by committing to take small steps towards incorporating some level of involvement in flow activity in their lives. 

4. 4. Proper resource allocation tools – using well-designed tools for managing human resources for projects can minimize overhead and reduce stress levels as well.    

Weekwise is a resource allocation tool that shows you accurate resource capacity and helps project managers, colleagues, and stakeholders see where they are with projects. This tool can help project managers avoid some of the pitfalls that can increase stress levels. 

Weekwise visualizes the time and resources project managers can allocate when resource planning for projects and gives them the tools and transparency they need for controlled and wise usage of resources.