So How Do You Really Feel?

Guest article

The state of well-being in the communication profession

The past two years have been two of the most significant years in living memory. Communication professionals worldwide have rapidly taken action to ensure their organization’s employees are safe and well informed. Now more than ever is the time for the communication profession to be firmly recognized for the vital strategic business function it is. 

But it’s also been a brutal time for many. “Stressed,” “anxious,” “frustrated,” and “concerned,” are just some of the ways communication professionals collectively described how they’re feeling through the global So How Do You Really Feel? survey I recently conducted. 

First things first. I’m not a mental well-being expert. I’m a communication professional just like you. 

Before the pandemic had even begun I noticed I was having more and more conversations with my peers, colleagues, and clients about mental well-being. Our conversations would center around burnout, fatigue, workloads, time—or lack of—and frustration. 

In 2020 I met mental well-being consultant and Mental Health First Aid Instructor, Julie Gillespie. Together we produced a free resource to assist communication professionals and business leaders to take a leadership role in helping their organizations’ workforces cope with mental health and well-being issues, recover, and thrive in a post-Covid-19 world.

Later the same year I hosted a virtual discussion about the mental health challenges communication professionals were facing during the height of the pandemic. I invited experts to talk about how to manage stress and anxiety, avoid burnout, and create a safe working space. I walked away with some valuable self-care strategies, but it left me thinking: Why aren’t we talking more about this and what it’s doing to communication professionals?

During the discussion one of my colleagues said: “Hard work is valued in our profession and worn like a medal.” “Yes, but we need to remember how to be human,” said another. This hit me like a ton of bricks, and my mind was made up. We need to talk about this, and we need to do it now.

Communication is critical to the success of any organization, institution, or individual and should be treated with respect. But as communication professionals, we are limited in our ability to rise to the challenges if we’re suffering.

Our study includes insights from almost 800 communication professionals around the world. It also includes seven case studies developed through interviews with communication leaders from leading organizations. 

Not surprisingly, two-thirds of respondents said their mental well-being has declined since the beginning of the pandemic and almost half have considered leaving our profession because of this. What struck me most is that fewer than half of the respondents are optimistic about their mental well-being in 2022. This is cause for considerable concern and needs to be addressed as a matter of some urgency.

We all know that taking time out is critical to managing our mental well-being. Even before the pandemic this was challenging for some communication professionals, but remote working has blurred these lines even further, making it even harder to switch off. And while many organizations provide leave, one in three communication professionals don’t believe they can take time out to support their mental well-being.

The upside is that communication professionals are taking action to help support their personal mental well-being. Even so, workload expectations and work-life balance are negatively impacting them. 

At an organizational level there is room for improvement. Almost three-quarters of respondents believe their organization should do more to support mental well-being in the workplace. There is also a significant gap between what organizations provide to support mental well-being versus what communication professionals actually want. 

The case studies highlight that, in the organizations that are actively working toward creating a working culture that normalizes mental health, people feel more connected and safer. Research demonstrates that these types of organizations have higher-performing employees and a healthier bottom line. 

It's clear that supporting the mental well-being of communication professionals is not just a “nice-to-have.” In this global race for talent, it has become a business imperative and a strategic advantage.

These results highlight an incredible opportunity for communication professionals to collectively influence what comes next and help create the type of environment where they feel respected, accepted, and comfortable being themselves. Essentially, workplaces where we thrive, flourish, and do our best work. Because we really are stronger together. 

You can download your free copy of the State of Mental Wellbeing in the Communication Profession now.