According to the 2023/2024 Mental Wellbeing Audit carried out by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), there has been an increase in the diagnosis of mental health conditions in the PR industry rising from one in four (25%) to one-third (33%).

The audit also revealed that on average, an overwhelming 91% reported poor mental health in the last 12 months. As 3x1’s mental health first aider, I believe there is one extremely important skill that practitioners can develop to minimise work related stress leading to mental health challenges.

It's no surprise that in today's fast-paced work environment we’re experiencing burnout which can quickly become a significant hurdle to creativity, productivity, and overall employee wellbeing. To overcome this demands resilience.

However, becoming resilient isn’t something that happens overnight, and it’s a skill that you will constantly be developing from experience.

Throughout my career, I’ve witnessed firsthand the power of resilience in navigating industry-wide challenges and career progression.

Here are the seven ways I built up my resilience:

• Motivation: Discover what truly motivates and inspires you within the industry to give you a clear purpose and strengthen your resilience. When people have a purpose, they rise to the challenge
• Think differently: View challenges as opportunities for career development and personal growth rather than obstacles
• Manage your stress: Implement effective stress management techniques such as exercise, and time management tools to decrease the impact of stress. Find whatever works for you and make it part of your daily/weekly routine
• Collaborate with your colleagues: You’re not alone! Create a supportive network within your team, encouraging collaboration and shared problem-solving. Your colleagues can sense check and be your sounding board
• Compartmentalise: Organise tasks into separate compartments for better cognitive processing and ensuring you focus on one task at a time
• Take a break: Boost mental clarity, creativity and performance by prioritising regular breaks to refocus. This will clear your mind and allow you to effectively revisit a challenging task or situation
• Develop mental agility: Develop the ability to respond with a solution, rather than react to a stressful situation by tapping into your empathy to connect with clients and grasp the bigger picture

By building resilience, we can weather storms, bounce back from setbacks, and ultimately thrive amidst the challenges. Embracing resilience not only benefits individual practitioners but it’s hugely valuable to your organisation and colleagues.

For PR professionals, resilience isn't a desirable trait, it's a crucial skill.

Carly Bannerman. 

Account director.

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