The job with the highest burnout rate is also one of the most popular jobs companies are hiring for: Project manager.
That’s at least according to recent research from LinkedIn, which surveyed more than 16,000 professionals in the U.S. between March and June.
Four in ten U.S. workers report feeling stuck and burned out in their jobs, LinkedIn found. That rate is even higher for project managers, with a staggering 50% of professionals in this field saying they feel burned out.
On the other end of the spectrum, a third of workers in consulting, real estate and business development roles feel stressed and depleted, suggesting that these jobs are the least susceptible to burnout, LinkedIn reports.
Here are the types of jobs with the highest rates of burnout, per LinkedIn’s research:
- Program and project management
- Health-care services
- Community and social services
- Quality assurance
- Education
Burnout doesn’t just stem from long hours or a heavy workload, says Kandi Wiens, director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Master’s in Medical Education program.
For her book, “Burnout Immunity,” Wiens interviewed hundreds of people working in high-stress environments, including hospital employees, project managers and business executives.
Project managers are responsible for planning, organizing and managing the completion of a project, ensuring it is finished on time and within budget. Such projects can range from constructing a new building to running a marketing campaign.
These jobs often necessitate continuous multitasking, stringent deadlines and acting as a “middle man” between employees and clients, all of which can lead to burnout, Wiens explains.
The fact that project managers are also one of the most in-demand roles companies are actively recruiting for is cause for concern, Wiens says.
Businesses across all industries are recruiting project managers to keep up with rapid technological advancement and adapt to lingering disruptions from the pandemic, Lydia Logan, IBM’s vice president of global education and workforce development, told CNBC Make It in July.
To help meet these challenges, the Project Management Institute anticipates that employers will need at least 25 million people in project management roles by 2030 — which means about two million people will need to enter the field every year just to keep up with demand.
“I work with a lot of project managers, and the most common concern I hear from them is that they just don’t have adequate support or recognition to match the changing demands they face in their roles,” says Wiens. “That mismatch is a leading contributor to burnout.”
Other professions showing higher burnout rates — health care, education, community and social services — are in high-stress environments and offer people limited control over the results of their work, Wiens points out.
“These are emotionally taxing jobs,” she explains. “When you’re in a caring profession, you’re dealing with a lot of difficult, sensitive situations, some of which could have serious consequences for a child or patient’s well-being … that can get exhausting, fast.”
You can assess a job’s burnout risk before accepting an offer by evaluating whether the role aligns with your personality and temperament and reaching out to current or former employees to gain a firsthand understanding of the work environment and culture.
Extroverts, for example, might not do well in a role with minimal social interaction, Wiens offers.
Interviews are also good opportunities to ask questions about the level of support given to staff, she adds.
For demanding roles where the risk of burnout is higher, Wiens suggests asking about resources employees can access to support their well-being — these can take the form of managerial support, flexible scheduling or mental health benefits.
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