When the news is your job: managing the mental load

91% of PR professionals say keeping up with current affairs is a necessary part of their job. And 38% say that doing so negatively affects their mental health. It’s one of the findings from CIPR’s latest State of the Profession research that deserves a closer look. Working in communications often means being immersed in the news. We monitor emerging issues, respond to crises, navigate increasingly polarised conversations and advise organisations on when and how to respond. But what happens when being ‘always on’ starts to take its toll? Join CIPR Trainers Pauline Hughes, Executive Coach and Fearless Culture Architect, and Caroline Rae, Executive Coach and Leadership Advisor, for a live conversation about the mental and emotional load of working in PR – and what we can do about it. They’ll explore where responsibility lies between building our own resilience and creating healthier workplace cultures, including: How can we protect our resilience when switching off isn’t always straightforward? What actually helps us cope with sustained stress and pressure? When does resilience stop being an individual responsibility and become a leadership issue? How can managers create cultures where people can perform at their best without being permanently ‘on’? And what does sustainable high performance really look like in a communications team? The conversation will draw on themes from our ‘Building Resilience’ and ‘Driving Healthy, High-Performing Cultures’ training courses.