PR is a demanding career; juggling clients, personal work and personal life can be overwhelming. Unfortunately, it's often our personal lives that suffer the most, and our mental well-being along with it.
A survey done by Prowly that focuses on stress levels among PR professionals found that, "92% of respondents reported that work-related stress has wreaked havoc on their mental health. They've said the stress sometimes infiltrates every aspect of their life and affects not only their emotional and psychological health but also takes a toll on them physically."
media update's Saads Abrahams wants to help you revitalise your PR career in 2025 so read on to find out how to recognise and prevent burnout from happening.
What is burnout?
Let’s first take a look at what burnout actually is. According to the World Health Organization, burnout is defined as a syndrome caused by long-term stress in the workplace that has not been effectively dealt with.
It can be identified by three main factors:
- feelings of exhaustion and lack of energy
- detachment from one's job or negative attitudes towards it, and
- a decreased effectiveness and productivity in one's work.
Common Causes of Burnout in PR
There are a few aspects of PR that are at the root of burnout such as:
High Expectations
Not only do you have high expectations of yourself, but from your team, your employer and especially your clients.
Each client wants to feel like they are your only client, and you need to make sure that you give that feeling to every client.
In PR, your team and employer depend on you to not drop the ball and deliver excellent results — no matter how difficult your clients may be.
Crisis Management
One of the biggest challenges in the field of public relations is dealing with the unpredictability of the media and the general public.
PR professionals often have very little control over external factors that can greatly impact their campaigns and how they are perceived by the public. This plays a significant role in the amount of stress that PR professionals face on a daily basis.
When a crisis does arise, there is huge pressure on PRs to quickly put out any fire before it spreads and causes mass hysteria.
Social Media Overload
As a PR pro, you are often required to be a jack of all trades. One of the things that you are required to be active on and keep track of is social media. The constant need to monitor and handle any social media crisis creates a persistent feeling of urgency and anxiety.
Whenever something arises on your social media platforms, it immediately demands attention — adding to the already overwhelming burden of managing social media, which never shuts off. This ongoing pressure can ultimately lead to burnout.
Being Creative
Coming up with new and innovative PR campaigns constantly plays a huge role in causing burnout. No individual is creative 24 / 7, and the pressure to be is a lot for anyone to handle. On top of thinking up these campaigns, you are required to execute them and do your other daily tasks as well.
Lack of Boundaries
Finally, having a lack of boundaries contributes greatly to burnout. There is this need to be "always on" and that means taking work home or constantly working late. The lack of separation of work and your private life creates an unnecessary amount of pressure and takes away what should be your downtime.
Actionable Steps to Address Burnout
There are a few things that you can do to ensure that you do not burn out, such as:
- acknowledging how you are feeling
- taking some time off work
- switching off your social media at night
- asking for help from your team
- signing up for media monitoring to help you manage coverage, and
- making time for yourself.
Signs of Burnout to Watch Out For
If you are not sure if you are experiencing burnout, these are some of the most common symptoms to look out for:
- constantly feeling exhausted
- not enjoying your job
- not performing well at work
- feeling irritable
- feeling anxious
- experiencing physical symptoms such as headaches and stomach cramps, and
- having trouble sleeping.
What are your thoughts on burnout in PR? Let us know in the comments section below.
*Image courtesy of Canva