What are managers most concerned about in a post-Covid world?
A new PwC survey reveals what project managers in Ireland are most concerned about as the economy begins to re-open. Almost three-quarters of project managers in Ireland are most concerned about adjusting to the new ways of working in a post-Covid world. Thats according to a new survey from the 2021 Project Management Pulse Survey undertaken by PwC, which included 100 project managers in Ireland. The survey found that 72pc of participants said adjusting to new ways of working following the re-opening of the economy is their top concern. The next most important concerns were the health and wellbeing of their workforce (64pc) and the availability of key skills (62pc). The news comes as the Irish Government has signalled the possibility of some workers can return to their offices by the end of August. This could allow for a more blended or hybrid working model by some companies. Several companies have already begun laying out their hybrid working models, including banks such as Permanent TSB and Bank of Ireland and global tech giants such as Google and Microsoft. Increased stress  While 42pc survey respondents said the pandemic had improved their work-life balance, 37pc noticed an increase in stress levels. Furthermore, 29pc of managers who took part in the survey reported a decrease in their personal wellbeing and 30pc noticed a decrease in their own motivation since working remotely. When asked about their teams motivation, 34pc of respondents also reported a decrease in team motivation. Not only can the stress of project managers have a negative impact on themselves, it can also affect the people those managers lead. Last year, in the early weeks of the pandemic restrictions and the sudden gear shift to remote working, Siliconrepublic.com editor Elaine Burke spoke about the extra awareness needed by managers and team leads when it comes to stress transference. Managers without their daily management rituals, left with too much time to dwell on things and not enough on-site oversight to show them that work is ongoing, can whip themselves up into a frenzy. And it doesnt take long for these tornadoes of stress to take off, bringing their team members, Dorothy, Toto and all of Kansas with them, she said. More than a year later, as project managers face a second adjustment of what will likely become the new new normal, the high levels of concern around adjusting to working in a post-Covid world will come as no surprise. However, the PwC survey also highlighted some optimistic trends in this area. 85pc of respondents said investment in digital technologies is set to increase and 65pc plan to increase their company headcount. Project managers also reported key opportunities exploited as a result of the pandemic, including an increase in digital transformation (36pc), greater agility and better decision making (32pc) and greater operational efficiencies (32pc). PwC Irelands Feilim Harvey said the survey highlights the need to protect people and their wellbeing while navigating new ways of working. The survey suggests that Irish project managers have withstood the storm of Covid-19 and are emerging with confidence, he said. Whilst Covid-19 has caused widespread disruption, it has also provided momentum and an opportunity to reconfigure the business model for the long term.