A former governor’s press secretary, Kimberly Osborne is the Interim Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications at UNC Greensboro.
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The pandemic taught us that we can work from home. It did not teach us how to do so without leading to more stress and burnout. This is especially true for communicators who were leading the public relations, emergency communications and huge marketing pivots during that high volume “what was new five minutes ago is now old news” period of the pandemic. While we are all far from those days, the passage of time doesn’t mean we figured out how to balance work and life more easily. We should take our lessons learned to help improve communicators’ work-life balance before the next crisis arises. And we know we don’t need a crisis to overwhelm the team—there’s enough work without a crisis. Let’s look at the core actions communicators can take to de-stress, help clients and still meet deadlines.
1. Use Your Agency
Your public relations or marketing agency should be an extension of your team. Yes, sometimes it takes as much time to show someone what you need as it would to just do it yourself. But what about the next time you are pressed for time? Teach your agency what you want. And let’s be frank: Your agency worked hard to acquire its talented staff. Just because it may not be the way you would go about executing the project does not mean how they execute the work is incorrect. Ask yourself: Is it really worth you taking on the work? Or would you be better served by trusting your extended team and letting them do the job you hired them to do? Give direction, train if needed, and then get out of the way.
2. Share The Wealth Of Work
This should not be reserved for high-volume, in-demand periods only. Your team is a team. They need to help each other regularly so that when an emergency situation arises, they can operate at a higher level than they do every day with as much ease as possible. That comes with the familiarity of working together and having one another’s backs. If having a bench that is three deep in each area is a luxury, see number one. If you are regularly working with your agency, they can be the backups during those routine times when one person is out sick and the other on vacation. Turn to the agency. Internally, get in the habit of asking, “Who can take this on?” With your own internal systems, you likely know that answer, but enable your team members to voluntarily step forward to offer their assistance and show their fellow team members they can be relied upon. Many people genuinely want to help. Be sure to listen, and help make sure one team member is not overloaded by extending their hand to others.
3. Set Boundaries
Use your time wisely. This simple statement is not as easy to stick to as it is to say. When you are on a deadline, be clear with others that your time is dedicated elsewhere. Put the devices away when you’re away from the office and with family and friends. Use your email out-of-the-office setting nightly if you need to do so. During those high-volume periods, divert queries—telephone, email and text—to a colleague who is on duty. Set up an on-duty schedule. This is especially important for preventing burnout in public relations and communications spokespeople. By setting boundaries, you can help yourself be mentally in the moment of where you physically are without worrying about responses, media deadlines and the like.
We are all busy. We are all in a hurry. Lean on your contractors and your team, and set boundaries. Careers are long, and you don’t want to burn out before you hit your stride.
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