Burnout, the work-related stress response that happens when you’re insufficiently supported or when you feel a disconnect between who you are, what your values are and what you do day-to-day, isn’t new in the media industry. Some 70% of journalists have experienced work-related burnout, and women and young people are more likely to experience burnout in newsrooms.
While there are things in our control that can ward off burnout or help us complete the stress cycle, burnout is a workplace issue. It cannot be solved with better self-care — this idea implies the person feeling burned out should be doing more.
Quick reflection: Where are you currently overextending yourself at work?
Model healthy behaviors for your team
News leaders need to understand what burnout actually is, how to recognize it in others and how to begin to shift organizational culture by modeling the behaviors they want to see others take on.
Try this
Start here (2 minutes): Choose one boundary you will model this week.
Examples:
- Decline a meeting without an agenda and explain why
- Set a visible “deep work” block on your calendar
- Take a real lunch break
Make it visible:
Tell your team what you’re doing and why.
Make it simple:
You don’t need to change everything. Focus on just one model behavior.
More ways to support your team (come back to these later)
- Take a mindful moment as a team and practice a breathing exercise together.
- Facilitate more opportunities for transparent communication with your direct reports.
- Use your 1:1s to create a space for honest conversations about burnout.
If someone on your team is struggling
Offer them this “starter pack” to begin self-prescribing a specific remedy.
Pick just one prompt to start:
- The support I need: What actions from others would translate to support for you?
- The tiny betrayals: What small actions have moved you away from feeling a sense of purpose in your work?
- Visualizing a thriving me: When were you last thriving — and why?
- My intentional pursuits: Name one value or characteristic you need to pursue today and one way you’ll do that.
Dig deeper
- Journalists and mental health: An API resource guide
- Journalism managers are burned out. Is it time for a work redesign? by Jane Elizabeth
- Support hotline from The Media Resilience Network
- Resilience by Harvard Business Review
- The Self-Investigation by Mar Cabra and Kim Brice
