If you’ve worked in events for any length of time, you’ll know this already: not all stress is bad. In fact, a certain type of stress is one of the reasons people love this industry. The adrenaline of live delivery, the no-two-days-the-same kind of environment. For many of us, a deadline and a bit of urgency to deliver the best possible event is motivating.
But other types of stress like sustained late nights, an expectation of regular long hours, under-resourcing which causes sleepless nights in the run up to an event can have a long-term impact on us.
A few years ago, the events industry was ranked the third most stressful job globally, sitting behind military service and healthcare roles. That’s a stat that’s always stuck with me, partly because it’s alarming, and partly because it feels so disconnected from another truth we all know. Most people in events love their jobs.
This contradiction is what prompted us to take a closer look. Because if an industry people actively want to stay in is also one of the most stressful (and we aren’t saving lives), then there’s probably a fix for it.
At ClinkClink, we work directly alongside in-house event managers every day. We know from experience that event planning doesn’t have to be a recipe for constant stress. With the right timelines, the right resourcing and the right support, the process can be calm, controlled and, dare I say it, very enjoyable. But we also knew that what we see in well-supported teams isn’t yet the industry norm.
So rather than rely on anecdote or instinct, we decided to survey 150 UK in-house event managers to understand how much work impacts their sleep health, where stress is coming from, and what they believe would actually make a difference.
Quite a few things jumped out from the responses we got. A significant majority told us they don’t sleep well in the run-up to events. A third said they get fewer than four hours’ sleep the night before delivery. Nearly nine in ten reported physical symptoms of stress at some point: headaches, insomnia, burnout. And yet, 70% told us they haven’t considered leaving the industry because of stress.
One of the most interesting findings, and one we didn’t want to overplay, was that when in-house teams work with trusted external partners, stress often reduces and sleep improves.
That didn’t surprise us. Not because we believe agencies “fix everything”, but because collaboration spreads load, reduces uncertainty and gives people confidence that they’ve got enough people, experience and skillsets on the job. The data suggests that when agency and in-house teams work together properly, it creates balance.
After more than 20 years working in events, we still love this industry, but we’re conscious of its downfalls also. We wanted to share something useful through this research: a shared benchmark, feedback from event managers on the ground, and insight that helps us all to reflect on how this industry works/where it could be better.
As we look ahead, there’s an opportunity to draw a clearer line between good stress and bad stress. The exciting adrenaline of the job, and the parts which are just structurally or operationally clumsy. Almost all of the event managers we spoke to suggested that as well as wanting to remain in the events industry, they also believe that a better work culture is possible and likely in 2026.
All of us at Team Clink hope that this data is as interesting to you as it was to us. You can download a copy of the report below if you’d like to read the findings.