HOW much of an understatement would it be if I described 2020 as one heck of a rollercoaster ride? I usually have words for everything, but not for 2020. I just wish for this year to end, hoping that after what it has dished out, we have nowhere to go but up.
As communication and public relations practitioners, this time gave us a chance to really shine. With all the changes and confusion happening all around us, organizations—public, private, academic, big or small—had to step up their stakeholder engagement to ensure that they were getting the right messages across to their audiences. We were all pretty much going through the same thing, as individuals and as organizations, but we still had to make sure that our stakeholders knew that we were there for them whatever happens.
In the process, we have had to unlearn and relearn a lot of what we have become used to. No face-to-face engagements? No problem: we can do virtual meets, online campaigns, personal calls, and even send thoughtful care packages and gifts. No big events? Fun, productive, and still-personal online events helped fill the void, although we have had to really stretch our imagination to come up with ones that could connect with our target stakeholders.
Even the way we framed our messages had to be tweaked, given our not-so-normal situation. We still had to sell our goods and services, trumpet our organizations’ good work and achievements—but we had to frame our messages with utmost sensitivity to align with what the world was going through.
During these past months (almost a year already, actually—wow), our audiences’ characteristics have likewise changed: demographics shifted, as many lost jobs, affecting income levels, purchasing power, and overall living conditions; psychographics likewise moved, as priorities, motivations, and aspirations changed. Because of these, we have had to again make the necessary adjustments in terms of our approaches to crafting messages and choosing the right timing and platforms to get those messages across.
All this pivoting, unlearning and relearning, and rolling out appropriate messages and campaigns is exhausting. I myself have noticed some changes: trouble sleeping, difficulty focusing on work, inclination to do things other than work—you know that strong urge to clean your workspace or room when you have a deadline approaching? Apparently it’s a thing—it’s a coping mechanism; our mind telling us to take a mental break so we can be more productive and do our best work.
Coping with pandemic stress
THE United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledged the reality of pandemic-induced stress: “The [Covid-19] pandemic may be stressful for people. Fear and anxiety about a new disease and what could happen can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Public health actions, such as social distancing, can make people feel isolated and lonely and can increase stress and anxiety. However, these actions are necessary to reduce the spread of Covid-19. Coping with stress in a healthy way will make you, the people you care about, and your community stronger.”
To help people cope with pandemic-induced stress, these are some of CDC’s suggestions.
- Know what to do if you are sick and are concerned about Covid-19
- Know where and how to get treatment
- Take care of your emotional health
- Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including those on social media
- Take care of your body by exercising regularly, meditating, eating healthy meals, and getting plenty of sleep
- Make time to unwind by doing activities that you enjoy
- Connect with others, even if only via online meeting platforms or messaging apps
- Connect with your community- or faith-based organizations
I’m sure you already knew all of these things, but I realized that we do need to be reminded—especially when we are so caught up with wrapping up our 2020 deliverables that we forget to think of ourselves.
In an article on “Psychology Today,” clinical psychologist Carolyn Rubenstein noted: “Too often, time dictates our breaks, not our body. We are conditioned to think that when more needs to be done, we must increase the amount of time spent working and decrease the amount of time spent refueling. This thinking causes a strange sense of obligation to sacrifice our well-being due to the time crunch and demands of the situation. While it may seem counterintuitive, during the most hectic of times, we actually need more time to recharge.”
For us communication and PR practitioners, I know all too well how difficult it is for us to detach ourselves from our work. We have become so used to being on-call 24/7 that we oftentimes take for granted our personal well-being. I’m not sure if this is just me or if you are with me on this: we sometimes feel guilty when we are not working or being productive—such a bad habit and mindset.
Taking care of ourselves
“WE have a primal need for pleasure and recreation—but, as humans with free will, we can choose to ignore this need, to overcome our instincts and go against nature. We convince ourselves that there is no limit to how far we can push ourselves, that just as science produces better, faster, more reliable and steady machines, we too can hone our abilities through modifying our nature. Many of us attempt to train ourselves to need less down time—to sleep less, to rest less, to cease less—to do more and stretch beyond our limits. But, like it or not, there is a limit, and if we continue to violate nature’s demands, to abuse ourselves, we will pay the price—individually and as a society,” Harvard professor Tal Ben-Shahar said in his book Even Happier: A Gratitude Journal for Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment, as quoted in Rubenstein’s article.
We are not robots or machines, are we? We do get tired, too—physically, mentally, emotionally. And so we need to recharge so we can refresh ourselves and recover from the stress we have had to face these past months and will no doubt continue to face this coming year. As we approach Christmas Day, let us not forget to be kind to ourselves. This will allow us to take better care of our families, loved ones, organizations, and stakeholders. And let us not forget the reason for the season.
Merry Christmas, and may God bless us all.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier organization for PR professionals around the world. Abigail L. Ho-Torres is AVP and Head of Advocacy and Marketing of Maynilad Water Services Inc. She spent more than a decade as a business journalist before making the leap to the corporate world.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.
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