The cost of poor mental health in PR

The CIPR has teamed up with Mind to create new industry resources to improve the understanding of mental health and wellbeing in PR.  

The first resource is a skills guide, Understanding Mental Health and Wellbeing, created by CIPR Health. It outlines the current state of mental health in the industry and is designed to help employers build an environment of support to foster positive mental health. It also advises practitioners on how to take care of their mental wellbeing and includes practical steps such as provide managers with training, buddy up and switch off social media when you’re having a bad day.

The second resource is a recorded webinar featuring health experts, professionals in health communications and those with experiences of living with a mental health condition discussing how to take positive action on mental health in the industry.

These resources follow research that revealed the link between the nature of PR work and poor mental health amongst practitioners. Results from CIPR’s State of the Profession 2019 show that 21% have a diagnosed mental health condition and almost a quarter (23%) of respondents who discussed concerns about their mental health with a manager said that nothing happened as a result of those conversations.

Rachel Royall, chair of CIPR Health said: ‘We are delighted to publish this guidance to benefit our industry. The human and financial cost of poor mental health has had, and will continue to have, a huge impact on our profession. The responsibility to address this rests with each of us – every agency, organisation, manager and colleague.

‘These tools are just the start, we’re looking forward to continuing to work with our members to listen and understand what further action and support we can give to help make our profession happier and healthier.’

Emma Mamo, head of workplace wellbeing at Mind said: ‘Working in PR is hugely rewarding but comes with its fair share of pressures. It’s great to see CIPR taking action on this issue by developing a guide to increase understanding of mental health across the industry. Aimed at organisations, managers, employees and freelancers working within the sector, this guide can help you take care of your own mental health and better support the wellbeing of colleagues.’