Well-Being in Communications Industries and Purposeful Collaboration:A Rising Territory for Theoretical Innovation in Communications Research
Chair(s): Martina Topic (Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom)
Respondent(s): Alenka Jelen (University of Stirling), Ralph Tench (Leeds Beckett University)
Presenter(s): Anca Anton (University of Bucharest), Marija Geiger Zeman (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences), Maria Joao Cunha (University of Lisbon), Sarah Marschlich (University of Amsterdam), Raluca Moise (City University of London)
Maintaining work-life balance has been a continuously challenging issue in communications industries, with some authors raising this issue in the early 2000s (e.g., Aldoory et al, 2008). However, there are no studies analysing this issue from a well-being perspective. Mental health issues are on the rise in the industry since the communication profession features 24/7 availability and flexibility. The number of professionals who have experienced exhaustion or burnout has spiked, from 37% in 2020 to 45% in 2021, according to Ragan Communications’ Workplace Wellness report (2021). Therefore, the topic of well-being has been vital to the sustainability of the communication profession, but now more than ever.
As part of the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA) research network on Women in Public Relations, we launched an international research project focusing on the well-being of Public Relations and Communications industries (public relations, corporate communications, community relations, internal communication, media, advertising, etc.).
A panel of scholars from different institutions representing various European countries, the UK, Romania, Croatia, Portugal, Switzerland and Germany is put together. The research has been completed recently and the data will be analysed and ready for presentation by the congress. We are also preparing a special issue for the Journal of Communication Management, and thus aim to first present this work to the EUPRERA audience, as well as invite members for submitting further papers to the issue.
