By Ashley Young-
Public relation professionals are suffering an immeasurable degree of stress, according to newly released research that aims to identify its sources and address them.
Research by the PRCA found that just over a third of PR professionals had suffered or been diagnosed with mental ill health. Sara Kavanah, senior public relations campaign communications officer at the NUJ, told The Eye Of Media.Com that stress in the work place, particular in the PR industry can be very overwhelming . She said; ”policies and practices need to be put in place to safeguard the well being of individuals in the work place and protect their mental health”.
The British government has a Health And Safety Organisation quasi body that conducts regular inspections and puts templates in place to raise awareness. However it is up to employers and employees to ensure the maintenance and implementation of these proceedures”
An earlier study by PRWeek estimated the proportion of those affected at 60%.Phil Morcom, NUJ chair of the public relations and Communications council said that employees suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety take an average of 29 days off sick a year, costing employers across the UK economy around £3.7bn.
He added that a lot more needs to be done to address stress in the work place. With the pac Morcom said that “many senior managers, the easily-led, and the noisy brigade can demand more and more, but often with dwindling resources.”
He added: “Many people don’t feel they have an independent and trustworthy source of support they can turn to if they’re struggling with an issue. High levels of absence and staff turnover, impossible to achieve workloads and an aggressive workplace culture that tolerates bullying are among indicators of stress in many work environments.
Morcom said that there is evidence that there are too many people in the industry who are not prepared to say ‘no’ to a demanding boss, and too many junior employees are in the front line when it comes to protecting people and brand’s reputations.
“My worry is that they are facing tough times and they don’t belong to a trade union,” he added. “While their employer may have a mindfulness program or telephone helpline, they don’t have a union rep who can take an objective look at the situation and see if what they are being asked would fail the test of health and safety, equality or other legislation? Are their employment rights being respected?”
Causative factors of stress include infrequent breaks, taking work home, job insecurity, long hours, low pay and isolation and a poor working environment. Kavanagh, whose also works with volunteers in conducting research and fulfilling her duties of public relations believes awareness needs to be raised in most work environments to ensure employees or volunteers are not being overworked
Employers are advised to regularly monitor colleagues for symptoms. The HSE’s Talking Toolkit ‘Preventing Work-related Stress’, reminds managers of every risk they should be assessing and suggests minimum reasonable precautions the HSE thinks every employer should have in place.
“If there’s one document really worth reading during Mental Health Awareness Week, then this is it,” Morcom added.