How burnout is affecting the public relations industry
Public Relations (PR) has been labelled as one of the most stressful careers in 2019.
With the burnout epidemic becoming a frequent topic of conversation it is important to recognise the ways your PR team can work to their best ability in a low stress environment.
What does burnout mean?
According to the World Health Organisation ‘Burnout’ is now classified as a legitimate medical diagnosis. Burnout can result from chronic workplace stress that has not been managed successfully. The World Health Organisation states burnout can be characterised by:
- Feelings of exhaustion and energy depletion
- Increased mental distance from or negative feelings towards one’s job
- Reduced professional efficiency.
Why is PR so stressful?
PR is a fast-paced career however, that does not automatically translate to high employee stress levels. With organisation and planning, PR professionals can avoid workplace stress.
One reason a career in PR may cause stress is due to the responsibility of ensuring the correct information is communicated in the most effective way.
Our Managing Director Leisa Goddard said, “It is important to know your client inside and out and understand what messages they should be communicating to their audience.”
“Having an in-depth understanding of your client’s needs is important in PR and will ensure you won’t need to question whether or not the information you share on behalf of your client is correct,” Leisa said.
Another reason why a career in PR may cause stress is due to the 24-hour news cycle and the feeling of urgency associated with staying in contact with journalists. A key aspect of PR is getting your client’s communication and messaging in the news. At Adoni, we know how journalists think and what makes something newsworthy. As a team of ex-journalists, we have built strong relationships with our news contacts and know what it takes to get coverage in the news.
“Having knowledge of the news industry is critical to PR as it allows us to create content journalists need and in turn allows us to build a strong relationship with them,” Leisa said.
Tips for stress free PR
- Know your client inside and out to avoid mistakes
- Understand what specific messaging your client requires
- Communicate with your client to ensure your messaging is correct
- Understand what makes a story newsworthy and what a journalist needs
- Build relationships with journalists to ease concerns surrounding the 24-hour news cycle.
