Event professionals are busier and more stressed than ever, according a new report released on Friday by IBTM World.

The Culture Creators Report reveals that planners are feeling new pressures as the world navigates the new work-from-home culture.  Data shows that working from home full-time has jumped from 5% in 2019 to 25% in three years. As a result, many businesses now rely on organized face-to-face experiences to strengthen company culture.

According to the report, almost four in five (79%) of event professionals admit that they find their job roles more stressful today than before the pandemic. In fact, the profession was this year ranked as the third most stressful job in the world, ranking only below Military Service and Home Health Aide. Event planning was listed as a higher-stress job than teachers, first responders, surgeons, and social workers.

“It goes without saying that events are back with a bang post-pandemic, and while that often feels like a thing of the past, we are currently experiencing a different epidemic – burnout,” explains Nick Nagle, marketing manager at IBTM World. “Stress isn’t a new topic for event planners but we’re now working with a backdrop of new challenges. This is undoubtedly taking its toll on the industry, as our data highlights, and we need to do more to support amidst the increased pressures.”

Key findings from the survey conducted for the report, include:

• Nearly nine in ten event professionals (87%) underline that events are needed more than ever in today’s remote working landscape. In-person experiences are cited as instrumental in forging relationships, enhancing team performance and boosting team morale as workplaces are more physically segregated than ever before. 
• Almost two-thirds (61%) put this down to increased responsibilities with their evolved roles now having a much greater emphasis on tech, data and digital capabilities. Today event organizers are being forced to explore ideas outside of the traditional comfort zone with a landscape of increasingly digitally-enabled audiences and the emergence of new experience technologies, something that was supercharged during the pandemic.
• 90% of event professionals report no change to their reward packages despite increased responsibilities, heightened pressure, and more workload (three-quarters report an increase in the number of events they are planning).
• Two-thirds (66%) of event professionals believe that businesses do understand the importance of events and give the industry the recognition it deserves – just not the people behind it.

This data hints at potential recruitment and retention issues for the industry in the future, which could have a detrimental impact at a time when in-person experiences are needed more than ever. Research from The American Psychological Association highlights that as many as half of employees who feel undervalued will look for a new role within a year.

“The biggest risk is losing talent,” says Jessica Charles, vice-president, Programming and Events at Forbes. “People can give up and say, I can’t do this anymore because it’s a very demanding job physically and mentally. My biggest concern is losing people that I know are fantastic events people, but they just can’t do it anymore.”

This is particularly concerning at a time when events are more important than ever within the business sector. As many as four in five respondents (81%) emphasize that events are instrumental in forging and strengthening team relationships. Sixty-five percent believe that attending events together is a catalyst for enhancing team performance and 67% credit events with boosting team morale.

However, event planners are likely to need to offer more incentives to encourage delegates to leave their home offices, particularly as they encounter higher travel and accommodation costs.

IBTM World 2023 runs November 28-30 at Fira Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. Download the full report is HERE.