Project management has been described as a 9-to-5 job, with the hours increasing and decreasing with the project. However, a recent survey of project managers by the Project Management Institute (PMI) shows that most project managers (65%) believe that they can do project management all day long. And although the survey also revealed that respondents’ weekly hours in project management have increased from a typical 50 to an average of 70 hours per week, their weekly working hours in other jobs have decreased. The results suggest that project managers are spending more time on their projects than on their other jobs.
The survey showed that the average amount of time spent on a project is roughly 12 hours a day, or about 30 hours a week, and that project managers work an average of 45 hours per week in other jobs. These hours are often spread out over the course of a day, with some respondents reporting that they work more than 10 hours per day. However, some respondents reported that they work less than 10 hours per day on average, so their average number of hours in other jobs is probably higher.
The survey also found that project managers work fewer hours in the evenings and on the weekends, with approximately 12 hours per week in both cases. Project managers who work on weekdays report working fewer hours in the evenings and on the weekends than those who work on weekends, but the differences were not statistically significant.