How are your boundaries?
Image: Google
Missing people, a mother and her dead children, a politician’s mental health crisis and a devastatingly deadly shooting.
Looking through the news this month you’ll find some horrific events looking back at you.
With each story comes a team of journalists who have been tasked to cover the event - all of whom arrive at work each day with their own personal backstories and home lives.
It’s easy for the two to merge into one, especially with the pressure of covering big and important stories. Taking work home both mentally and physically can play havoc on the mind and body.
It is essential to ensure boundaries to protect your well-being and longevity in the industry, especially in what is gearing up to be a big year for our media.
Good boundaries ensure that home can be a place to relax and recharge with reduced work pressures.
Do you have clear boundaries between your work and home?
Headlines Network UK’s toolkit on Managing Mental Health, suggests the following steps:
“A clear signal at the end of the day can be beneficial to set a boundary between what is work and what is your own ‘personal time’. If working in the office, this boundary might be your commute or if you’re now working from home, going for a walk or a run. In essence, creating a bridge between the beginning and end of the working day – wherever you are located – is essential.
Many journalists are required to be accessible outside of working hours, whether that is by email or through digital platforms such as Teams or Slack. However, it is still important to manage your notifications on any personal or professional devices to protect your personal time.
Have a discussion with your team about preferred ways to communicate and times when you are available. This will help set and sustain boundaries and is really important for working in hybrid environments.”
Our team of media chaplains are available if you would like to discuss this further and brainstorm ways to put great boundaries in place.
Book a chat with us at mediachaplaincy.nz