This isn’t about not forgetting to do your business expenses, it’s about timeout.
I’ve just returned from a lovely week away in Cornwall. We ate too many pasties and cream teas, we drank gin and gallons of tea, we cycled and walked the pointy coastline. And, all of this with fabulous sunshine – it was the perfect week for recharging my batteries.
I’ve always been a dedicated worker, but I also recognise the importance of timeout from the office. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy after all!
Whatever industry you are in, giving your team time off is essential if you want them to be motivated, hardworking and productive. Without a happy team, I can’t see how a business can succeed in the long term. My old team at my last agency were extremely hard working – I couldn’t have asked for better, but I did tell them off if they didn’t take holiday, even if it meant I got some of their workload. Now I work for myself, the buck stops with me.
On my first official* day back in the office I feel rejuvenated – I even managed a run this morning! It also made me realise just how jaded I was feeling before I went away, and it reminded me of an article I’d read on holiday about burnout. So, during lunch I did a bit of desktop research.
Last year’s study by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the PRCA revealed that 91% of PR professionals had experienced poor mental health. Conversely, 59% said that having too much work to do was the biggest barrier to taking time off to deal with mental health. Only a fifth (22%) of PR professionals took the time off work to rest and recover. This is backed up by a Muck Rack report which found that PR professionals use less than 75% of their allotted annual leave on average and, when they do, 88% continue to be contacted by work.
It seems that I picked a stressful industry to work in, but a certain level of stress makes most PR people thrive. It can be hard to switch off if you take pride in your work and really care about your clients and the PR work you do for them. In the Women in PR ‘Speak Out! Don’t Burnout! Survey 92% of women said that as the PR industry is a 24/7 profession it makes it harder to ‘switch off’. The Muck Rack survey agrees, citing 96% struggling to switch off after work.
The good news for me (she said smugly) is that 60% of respondents in the CIPR/PRCA survey saidthatworking from home hasimproved their mental wellbeing. I’m very lucky that I love my job, my clients and being my own boss.
However, on a more serious note, while the research above is just about my profession, it relates to all industries. Hopefully, most employers are now realising the benefits of looking after their people and making sure they take timeout to recharge and rejuvenate. A happy business should be a successful one.
*My own rules may have been broken as I helped a client with an urgent project on Saturday😉
