PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
A team member has informed you that they are feeling burnt out due to the high pace of the project. The project is on schedule and within budget. What should the project manager do?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates choose a quick, directive solution like a vacation (Option A) or a drastic change like scope reduction (Option D), failing to recognize that the PM must first diagnose and address the underlying workload imbalance through team collaboration and resource management techniques.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Discuss workload distribution with the team and consider adjusting assignments.
The project manager should first assess and address the workload imbalance that is causing burnout, which is a key responsibility under the 'Manage Team' process. By discussing workload distribution with the team and considering adjustments, the PM uses a collaborative approach to optimize resource utilization without compromising the project's schedule or budget. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on servant leadership and proactive team management.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Tell the team member to take a short vacation and return refreshed.
Why it's wrong here
While offering a temporary reprieve, telling a team member to take a vacation does not address the underlying systemic issues contributing to burnout, such as excessive workload or lack of control. As a project manager, the responsibility extends beyond short-term fixes to identifying and mitigating the root causes to prevent recurrence, ensuring long-term team well-being and sustained project productivity. This approach is reactive rather than a proactive solution.
- ✗
Remove the team member from the project to protect their health.
Why it's wrong here
Removing a team member from the project is an extreme measure that can severely impact project continuity, resource availability, and overall team morale. Before resorting to such a drastic action, a project manager should explore less disruptive alternatives, such as reassigning tasks, adjusting schedules, or providing additional support, to mitigate burnout while retaining valuable project resources and avoiding unnecessary project disruption. It could also be perceived as punitive rather than supportive.
- ✓
Discuss workload distribution with the team and consider adjusting assignments.
Why this is correct
This approach aligns with effective resource management and team leadership principles by proactively engaging the entire team in finding a sustainable solution. By discussing workload distribution, the project manager fosters a collaborative environment, identifies potential bottlenecks or imbalances, and can implement practical adjustments to assignments, thereby alleviating the individual's burnout while maintaining overall project progress and team morale. It directly addresses a common root cause of burnout collaboratively.
- ✗
Reduce the project scope to lower the pace.
Why it's wrong here
Reducing project scope is a significant change that requires formal change control processes, stakeholder approval, and potentially impacts project deliverables and objectives. This action is typically reserved for situations where project objectives are unattainable or external factors necessitate a re-evaluation, not as a primary response to an individual team member's burnout. It represents an overly broad and complex solution for a specific resource management issue.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 800 original PMP practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PMP practice question is part of Courseiva's free PMI certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PMP exam.