It is a sad fact that the issue of well-being and mental health in the media industry – which is known for its long hours and often stressful working conditions – is rarely highlighted.
Such a situation can often breed a toxic workplace environment. Some of the more common signs include an increased, unreasonable workload, a boss that openly berates an employee in front of others or who frequently finds fault in their work, and a general feeling that the office is not a safe space.
These are just some of the signs listed in the recent Workplace Well-being in the Media webinar which was organised by Telum Media on Jan 19.
The panellists for the webinar included CNN Philippines correspondent Rex Remitio, CNA Digital senior journalist Grace Yeoh, The Star deputy editor for Health Tan Shiow Chin and Vim & Vigour PR founder/managing director Lynda Williams, who is also the co-founder and editor of The Soothe, wellness-centric digital media company.
Workplace toxicity was one of the topics discussed during the event. As a toxic environment can impact an employee mentally and emotionally, the panellists felt that the employee should bring up the issue to a higher level in a company, or walk out of the situation and look for another job.
However, at what point should one decide to leave?
Williams felt that an employee should exhaust all avenues before deciding to leave the company for good. First, they should speak to both their boss and Human Resource Department.
She added: “When toxicity happens, it is quite emotional, so its important to note the facts – how [often] the person gets angry, manipulative, shows narcissistic behaviour or gaslighting – as [it] happens in a workplace.
“If you are suffering, it’s important to start noting down exactly what happened and when it happened, the cause and the ramifications (of such behaviour). If the boss or Human Resources Department are not understanding or able to come up with a solution, then, its time to walk away.”
Aside from bosses, a toxic workplace can also result from conflicts with colleagues, who may also be the source of toxic behaviour.
“Just be aware that you don’t help feed to the toxic culture,” noted Yeoh.
She added that workers must take responsibility for their own behaviour and not get involved in that toxic cycle or feed into the toxic culture. Instead of adding to the toxic culture, an employee should break out of the cycle.
Balancing work and life
When the Covid-19 pandemic began, most countries implemented strict lockdowns, and work from home (WFH) became the norm, resulting in employees working longer hours.
From an eight-hour schedule, employees found themselves working all day long from their homes, resulting in home and work life becoming unbalanced.
“The lines certainly got blurred. People woke up early and rolled out to their laptops in their pyjamas, or (they were) finishing super late,” said Williams.
Some companies even added to employees’ previous workloads and responsibilities, as they believed that employees were having too much time on their hands.
This resulted in an unhealthy situation of employees working around the clock, negatively impacting their mental and physical well-being.
Williams said it was important to get the balance back, and to set the boundaries with the bosses on what is acceptable and what is not.
A good department head or employer should know what is best for their team, as well as support and really understand their employees needs and current state of well-being. For example, an employee may have various concerns such as wanting to leave work early to pick up a child.
Bosses can come up with ideas or activities that the team members can do together and enjoy, and feel positive or nurtured at the workplace. One of these is to go out for lunch or have coffee or tea as a group outside of the office and build bonds in a casual, non-work setting.
Caring for mental health
One of the main topics of discussion was how reporters had to deal with a deadline, long hours and stress, which can cause burnout, anxiety and fatigue.
The panelists suggested cutting down on working hours, setting up proper time management, or prioritising important tasks. All of these measures can help but they pointed out that most importantly, an employee needs to look inside and ask: “Why am I pushing so hard?”
One of the panellists shared that the infinite chase (for deadlines or the next story) can make a reporter feel good about themselves. They suggested finding out the source of that and whether it stems from the need to be a “people pleaser” or the need for validation from their boss.
The key thing is to find out their purpose – “Do you live to work or are you working to live?” – and make the necessary changes in their life.
The panellists were also of the opinion that employee should learn to take things easy and practice self-care, such as getting some exercise, in order to present the best version of themselves. One should also practise time-management to avoid having work spilling over into personal time.
Williams also suggested finding a new interest or an activity outside of work in order to feel reinvigorated and to have something that can refresh both body and mind.
It is also important to be able to recognise signs of stress or burnout in others.
One of the best ways to deal is to approach the person and simply ask: ‘How are you or how are you feeling now?’ and prepare to listen to the answers, sincerely.
Just by asking few key questions, you can encourage a person to open up and share their concerns and problems.
According to another panellist, bosses should get rid of any kind of judgment against the employee before asking any questions and they added that the boss should also not share the employee’s concerns or challenges with others (if it’s a matter of privacy).