The CIPR has teamed up with mental health charity, Mind, to deliver new resources – a skills guide and webinar – aimed at improving the understanding of mental health and wellbeing in public relations. The guidance – led by CIPR Health – is designed to help employers build a working environment that supports positive mental health and advises practitioners on how to take care of their mental wellbeing. The member-only half-hour webinar features 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 profession.
The resources follow research earlier this year, revealing the link between the nature of PR work and poor mental health amongst practitioners. The results from State of the Profession show that 21% have or do live with a diagnosed mental health condition whilst 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.
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. This guidance, developed with health professionals, has actions for us all to take and insights to improve our understanding. 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.
Jo Twiselton, CIPR Health Group, Director Twist Consultants
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.
Emma Mamo, Head of Workplace Wellbeing, Mind
- Download the Skills Guide here.
- View the webinar here (CIPR member only)
- Find out more about CIPR’s work on mental health.
