PR Moment – Don’t let Public Relations get you down

Let’s face it, this hasn’t been the greatest start to the year, horrible weather, depressing news (well, isn’t it always?) and continuing financial pressures are not good for your mental, or physical health. On top of that, working in PR, chances are you have to work long hours in a sedentary role.

It is important for the health of the business, however, that your working culture encourages a healthy and sane environment. If people are absent due to illness, it puts pressure on team members and costs money.

Kourtney Shaw, consultant at PR agency Calacus, describes how she combats the unhealthy pressures of working in PR: “I try to exercise at least three times a week before work begins. If you just wake up and do some exercise it’s done, dusted and out of the way so you can go and enjoy those social events without fear of piling on extra pounds from calorific cocktails and canapés. I also use the time at the gym to catch up on daily news by listening to the radio while I’m jogging.”

“Late nights working, client worries and being ‘always-on’ can put a strain on you both physically and mentally so I try to switch-off at least 30 minutes before I go to sleep. I’ll read a book, a magazine, or listen to a Radio Four podcast. I tend to listen to radio shows which I wouldn’t usually associate with work (for instance, BBC Radio Ulster’s Everyday Ethics) but are still intellectually stimulating and entertaining. They can spark creativity and are thought-provoking and most importantly, stop me from looking at a screen.”