As a profession we have spent years proving we’re specialists in winning work and that we bring the expertise our organisations need in order to win more. We’ve made incredible progress, even in the small wins where we craft a win strategy that didn’t exist, or we’re asked to be involved because they need our help. It’s fantastic to see our roles become so critical.
But at what cost?
With long hours and stakeholders who expect “above and beyond”, it’s no wonder that in a recent APMP survey, 82% of respondents said they felt overworked and burnt out.
It’s also not a surprise that with hybrid working, the lines between work and home have continued to blur. In the UK, 91% of UK adults reported that they experienced high or extreme levels of pressure or stress in the past year*. Many of us have become accustomed to working overtime to produce outstanding proposals and pitches.
There are unfortunately downfalls of being incredibly passionate about the work we do – we don’t realise when we’re burnt out! We forget to give ourselves down-time to fully switch off as we’re excited to deliver excellence and continue proving ourselves.
In 2025, it’s time we prioritise well-being and mental health within our industry more than ever before. Without finding better balance we’ll lose outstanding current and future talent.
So how could we start moving the dial from working tirelessly to prove ourselves, to proving ourselves whilst thinking about wellness?
- Recognise burnout symptoms such as feeling exhausted for long periods of time, struggling to sleep, frequent headaches, feeling overwhelmed or demotivated, having persistent trouble concentrating or procrastinating more than usual
- Improve working hours by blocking time in your calendar to take a breaks during the day or ensuring you don’t look at your emails before work
- Set and hold boundaries with your key stakeholders as much as possible, for both delivery of deadlines and hours you’re available
- Assess tasks creating high pressure, to address approach, workload and agree realistic deadlines to reduce immediate pressure
- Speak to someone about how you’re feeling – they might be able to help, and as always, a problem shared is a problem halved!
- Create a safe space to discuss challenges, work-life imbalance or times of high pressure, and encourage asking for help
- Ask for professional help when you need it
As much as we focus on wellbeing and burnout in the bid and proposal world, it’s likely we’ll all experience ebbs and flows as we navigate change, internal pressures and the trials and tribulations of client deadlines! A ‘healthy balance’ is different for everyone but it’s vitally important we individually find the balance that’s right for us.
*Mental Health UK 2025 Burnout Report
**A full list written by Mental Health UK can be found here.
Charlotte Rees
Charlotte has worked in the bidding profession for nearly a decade, starting her journey as a bid and proposals apprentice for an engineering company. She has worked across several industries including IT services, facilities management and construction, and is currently an Associate Director Bid Manager, working within professional services. In 2018, Charlotte founded the Wellbeing and Inclusion in Bids and Proposals (WIBAP) community to target gender inequality within the profession and provide a space to share experiences and overcome the challenges we all face on a regular basis.
