Career counselling strategies to enhance the vocational wellness of journalists

Emotional distress and management of vulnerability

Journalists enter their profession with an awareness of what it entails. Research and testimonials indicate that members of the media are a resilient group of people who understand that, in their line of work and within roles as reporters and editors, they might encounter tragedy (Beam & Spratt, 2009). Wars, murders, car accidents, criminal trials, school shootings, suicides, and natural disasters are just some of the traumatic incidents that media professionals either face directly or indirectly (Beam & Spratt, 2009; Keats & Buchanan, 2009).

However, as discussed in the literature, repeated exposure does take its toll, and those tasked with retelling traumatic experiences do risk emotional injury, which can often result in secondary traumatic stress (Figley, 1995). According to McMahon (2001), A. Nelson and D. Nelson (2008), and Palm, Polusny, and Follette (2004), when news workers are directly exposed to calamity they are disposed to primary traumatization, and when they shoulder the pain or grief of others – encountered through their work – they are prone to secondary traumatization, which is ‘a stress response to graphic descriptions of violent events and witnessing or involvement in the traumatic events experienced by others’ (Keats & Buchanan, 2009, p. 162). Despite the fact that journalists who are exposed to the experience of secondary traumatic stress might not be the direct victims of the event, the psychological toll of witnessing and covering the event can have a lasting impact on journalists under such circumstances (Figley, 1995; Stamm, 1995). Given their professional instincts and intellectual capacity to reflect and contemplate on human phenomena, the impact of such distress from secondary traumatization can be felt beyond vocational life, affecting other aspects of personal and social life domains.

Compounding this job trait is how journalists deal and cope with such stress. There is an unwritten code in the media landscape: ‘that no assignment, no matter how brutal, can define one’s capacity to take a photograph, gather facts, and produce a story’ (Simpson & Boggs, 1999, p. 1). Embedded within this code is the notion that journalists must move on to the next assignment immediately, ignoring the emotional toll of the distressing event (Simpson & Boggs, 1999). Permeating the profession is the view that journalists should appear ‘tough as nails’ and ‘macho’. Admitting to emotional distress is frowned upon and seen as sign of weakness and career liability. This ultimately leads journalists to inadequately cope by denying, dismissing, and avoiding their emotions (Ward, 2004). Rather, they end up handling the traumatic stress by exercising emotional detachment or abusing alcohol and drugs (Cook & Banks, 1993; Fedler, 2004; Joseph, 1983).

Over time, this serious trauma can impinge on journalists’ work performance, cause workers to depend on sick leave, or it might even shorten their careers (Ward, 2004). As stated by Beam and Spratt (2009), there are advancement and fulfilment implications as well: ‘The more journalists believed that showing signs of emotional distress would hurt their chances for advancement at their news organization, the lower their job satisfaction’ (p. 430). Subsequently, morale and career commitment are negatively affected. If journalists believe that their careers are in jeopardy due to expressions of emotional distress, then workplace morale will also be low. Journalists who choose to leave their career, or show signs of waning commitment, are less prone to seeing their organization’s management as supportive during times of emotional distress following coverage of violent or traumatic events (Beam & Spratt, 2009).

Unstable journalism climate and unfavourable working conditions

It is not unusual for journalists to accept and grow accustomed to a certain level of pressure and stress on the job. Deadlines, long work hours, and time away from loved ones are common place in this profession (Gloede, 1983; Kalter, 1999; Reinardy, 2006, 2008, 2009). And it is not uncommon for news workers to thrive under the demands, deadlines, and competition (Reinardy, 2012). As Selye (1956) points out, people cope with stress in different ways; what is overwhelming for some can be exhilarating for others.

However, things have changed. According to the American Society of News Editors (2015) survey, the number of full-time newsroom jobs dropped to 38,000 in 2012 – the lowest number since the society started keeping track in 1978 (Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 2014). Between 2007 and 2015, the number of newsroom employees at daily newspapers declined from 55,000 to 32,900, a 40% decline (American Society of News Editors, 2015). In Canada, media job losses nationally were about 10,000 between the five years spanning 2008–2013 (Canadian Media Guild, 2013). More recently, the Canadian Public Policy Forum found that roughly one-third of journalism jobs have been lost over the past six years (Greenspon, 2017). Additionally, working conditions have become less than ideal for journalism professionals who survive the layoffs, buyouts, hiring freezes, and long delays in filling positions (Reinardy, 2010). ‘Decreased job satisfaction, job performance and higher rates of absences and sick days, lower levels of organizational commitment, poorer emotional well-being, and increased psychosomatic complaints are some of the negative outcomes associated with those who are considered ‘layoff survivors’’ (Cotter & Fouad, 2013).

The working climate of a journalism career can include challenges such as ‘time pressure, a heavy workload, a high work pace, and/or difficult and mentally exacting work’ (Deuze, & Witschge, 2017). A closer look demonstrates the ever-evolving challenges of the journalism career, as long gone are the days of working to once-a-day deadlines. The stories that journalists are telling must now be adapted to a new business model, which extends beyond the newspaper, television, or radio. Online competition is high, and journalists are being forced to produce content for a 24/7 Internet audience (Wheeler, Christiansen, Cameron, Hollingshead, & Rawlins, 2009). That includes shooting video or writing stories for the organization’s website, blogging, creating photo galleries, updating social media, among much more. Essentially, that entails an overload in work, and multiple deadlines (Reinardy, 2011), and having to redefine their professional identity to meet the digitization of the news media (Klein-Avraham & Reich, 2016). With mobile reporting, such as the use of mobile phones and digital cameras to generate content, the average citizen is able to record, upload, and report on incidents in real time (Umair, 2016). Mobile technology has changed broadcast journalism, and journalists are presented with the challenge of adapting to this new model.

Studies have shown that unfavourable job characteristics have a profound impact on job stress and burnout; for example, research has revealed that among other things, work overload can lead to feelings of exhaustion and negative, callous attitudes towards work (Lee & Ashforth, 1996; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Amidst the competition, extra job demands, and unsteadiness within the industry, news workers can be left feeling frustrated regarding job security, and overall job satisfaction is negatively impacted (Jung & Kim, 2012; Reinardy, 2012).

Poor work–life balance

According to Statistics Canada (2008), when people effectively manage multiple obligations at work, at home, and in their communities, they can achieve what is referred to as work–life balance. It is not uncommon for people to have difficulty achieving this balance; and, consequently, undesirable ‘spillover’ effects from work to home have been extensively documented (Burke & McKeen, 1992; Grzywacz & Marks, 1999; MacDonald, Saliba, Hodgins, & Ovington, 2016: Rudolph, Lavigne, & Zacher, 2017). When there is conflict in the work–family exchange, a negative spillover can take root. Jobs that incorporate long hours and psychological stress encapsulate a high degree of negative spillover, and these components carry over into the home life, creating work–life conflict (Grzywacz & Marks, 1999). Work–life conflict tends to create strain and reduces satisfaction in work and non-work life (MacDonald et al., 2016).

Journalists are vulnerable to both strain and reduced work and life satisfaction. Naturally, when demands are high and manpower is low, routines are harder to maintain. ‘Journalists often work irregular schedules, long hours and holidays. They must be prepared to change plans at a moment’s notice to cover a story’ (Everbach, 2008, p. 12). Additionally, there are other clear downsides, such as dangers to health and a disturbance to their family life (Hardt, 2005). For example, the business involves much shift work. As Berger and Hobbs (2006) and Palfi, Nemeth, Kerekes, Kallai, and Betlehem (2008) noted, an individual’s circadian rhythms are disturbed as a result of working the night shift, and this can lead to increased risks for injuries, accidents, and social isolation. Compared to employees who work during the day, shift workers are more likely to agonize about not spending enough time with family and friends and are more likely to limit their sleep in an effort to get more done than they can manage (Statistics Canada, 2008). Furthermore, studies have shown ‘that when work schedules are regular or when workers have some control over their shifts, it is easier to reduce the conflicts relating to family and work’ (Chen & Haller, 2015, p. 19; Halpern, 2005).

According to Everbach (2008), both men and women in the journalism industry are worried about balancing work and family. Furthermore, a study by Everbach and Flournoy (2007) found that women often state that they leave the profession because of schedule inflexibility, among other things. For those still undecided about the profession, scholars Creedon and Cramer (2007) stated that the journalism profession is becoming less of an appealing option for men and women: ‘Rapid changes in technology, increased demands to work longer for the same pay, coupled with eroding family-friendly practices’ (p. 278) are listed as factors driving them away.

The psychological distress discussed earlier also has negative spillover effects for journalists. First-hand accounts by journalists demonstrate that due to frequent exposure to trauma and human suffering, relationships with family and friends suffer (Keats & Buchanan, 2012). Journalists often feel socially isolated and misunderstood because others did not want to either hear their stories or could not empathize enough to grasp their experiences (Keats & Buchanan, 2012). Unfortunately, due to their misguided desire to protect family and friends from their traumatic distress, they also distance themselves from their loved ones, which often leaves them without support from the very people who are best positioned to offer care (Keats & Buchanan, 2012).

Using narrative career counselling interventions

Given that journalists are in the business of storytelling, the narrative approach can be very suitable for this population. Stebleton (2010) argued that at its root, career and employment counselling is a narrative undertaking simply because counsellors are in the business of hearing and taking in client’s stories. When career counsellors utilize Cochrane’s (1997) narrative model, they focus on the stories, personal reality, and social context of their clients, and how they derive meanings from their experiences. Within this perspective, clients are given the opportunity to position themselves much like editors would – to work collaboratively with a career counsellor to edit their own career stories in the way they would like to see it unfold going forward. This approach could be equally beneficial for individuals, such as journalists dealing with their well-being, who are seeking greater work–life balance, and/or are facing dissatisfaction within their careers (Chen & Haller, 2015).

The narrative career approach is based on seven components or ‘episodes’ as Cochrane (1997) described. The first three – elaborating a career problem, composing a life history, and eliciting a future narrative – are grounded in meaning-making; and the last four – constructing a reality, changing a life structure, enacting a role, and crystallizing a decision – emphasize taking action. The current discussion will examine how several of these key tenets – such as elaborating a career problem, eliciting a future narrative, and constructing a reality – can be applied to help journalists.

In line with the first episode of career elaboration, journalists would begin their narrative process by describing and elaborating on their particular career problem(s) and presenting concerns. Questions that might arise, given the challenges with a journalistic career, could include: Are journalists disenchanted with their career due to job demands infringing on their work–life? Are the irregular working hours taking a toll on their overall well-being? Are they worried about expressing their assignment stress vulnerabilities to their superiors, colleagues, and loved ones, and how might that affect their career standing?

To complement the elaboration phase, one strategy could be putting pen to paper, which can be helpful both to the career counsellor and journalist as they work together. Sharing one’s writing acts as a form of support and has been shown to reduce the burnout and stress common in helping professions (Skovholt, 2001). Counsellors utilizing a narrative career approach can suggest that journalists tell their own personal career stories through writing. It is through such narratives that some of the distress, frustration, and perhaps anger that clients feel towards their career circumstances can be released (Chen & Haller, 2015). Furthermore, journalists who have been deliberately keeping their emotional distress quiet and conforming to the unwritten code mentioned earlier could greatly benefit from this cathartic exercise. Ideally, this narrative exploration will take place in an empathic, safe, and non-judgmental counselling environment, where counsellors can engage in understanding and developing the client’s story and helping them to adapt to changing circumstances (McIlveen & Patton, 2007). Counselling can help normalize experiences and emotions and provide helpful validation, for example, validating the resiliency of the journalist under strenuous conditions.

Once the underlying concerns have been elaborated and explored, the counsellor is able to decipher the gaps within the career narrative and facilitate the client’s desire to move forward (Sharf, 2013). To help clients form a future narrative, Cochrane’s (1997) guided fantasy technique can prove to be useful. Through this technique clients are encouraged to reflect on the accomplishments they would like to achieve (Sharf, 2010). This technique encapsulates the client’s ideal career realities and experiences that would make their life feel complete. The value of a future narrative is that it considers a client’s strengths, interests, and values (Sharf, 2010). Journalists have the opportunity to take control and feel more empowered as they look to design what they want. For example, journalists might envision putting the fear of career liability aside and allowing themselves to be more vulnerable and forthcoming with supervisors, colleagues, and family members regarding their emotional experiences. Or, if they feel that they are missing out on family events and milestones due to increased job demands and irregular work schedules, they might imagine working fewer hours that would afford them more family time.

Moving forward, journalists could engage in the reality construction phase, which allows them to put parts of their future narratives into action. During this action planning stage, current work environments are taken into consideration as clients work to achieve components of their fantasy narratives. For example, journalists might determine that they will speak with a supervisor about their emotional distress on the job and how it is important that their organization value open communication about such matters. Perhaps, they will decide to begin a dialogue with colleagues about creating an engagement committee at work, where together they can address such issues and begin to pave the way for culture change in the newsroom. With regards to their hectic work schedule, journalists could begin to construct a new reality by taking action and requesting a job rotation, for example, a move from the news section to the features or business sections, which offer more regular hours. Alternatively, they might determine that they will apply for those types of roles as they come up internally.

Narrative-based approaches serve clients ‘especially during times of prolonged transition and upheaval in their clients’ personal and professional lives’ (Stebleton, 2010, p. 67). The narrative approach bolsters the notion of options and alternative stories. Clients who are feeling helpless, stressed, and disgruntled are given an opportunity to reframe their current stories and make new career meanings for themselves.

Considering social learning career counselling interventions

Krumboltz’s (1994, 1996) social learning theory has many useful components that can be applicable to career counselling with journalists. One of the main principles of social learning theory of career decision and career counselling is that it helps clients utilize techniques that will assist them in selecting career alternatives, even as they take unexpected events (i.e. happenstance) and the importance of work adjustment (Krumboltz & Henderson, 2002; Sharf, 2013) into consideration. This is especially important given the aforementioned issues journalists face. The model aims to equip clients with the proficiencies necessary to navigate change in their career world. The counsellor would help the client come to understand their career-related view of themselves and what is problematic or limiting about this view. Together the counsellor and client identify what career relevant learning experiences, modelling, or skill building will help them reframe their view. Krumboltz, Mitchell, and Jones (1976) believed that social learning theory can be very beneficial for individuals who are experiencing job dissatisfaction due to problems within the organization or for individuals trying to balance work and family together, an experience applicable to the experience of journalists.

A fundamental tenet of social learning theory is for counsellors to help clients accept uncertainty and instability in their careers as a normal condition, and to use it to plan new experiences and leverage, or what Krumboltz called preparing for happenstance (Sharf, 2010). Journalists plagued by their unstable, uncertain, and competitive working environments can take solace in learning from a counsellor that the dissatisfaction they are experiencing due to these circumstances is merely a sign that a change needs to take place in their life. Perhaps that change entails seeking a different career or it could simply mean that they need to consider adjusting to a more enjoyable environment. For example, a journalist facing increasing job demands and less satisfaction due to work overload might find that embarking on a freelance writing career provides them with more autonomy over their schedule. Furthermore, research demonstrates that when professionals feel that they are in control of their own time and means of operating, that career well-being is fostered (Kidd, 2008).

Krumboltz’s (1996) model values the use of role models or mentors because ‘clients can have a valuable associative learning experience’ (Sharf, 2010, p. 360). Not only do counsellors themselves act as role models, but they can also help clients by suggesting role models for them. For example, a journalist who is struggling with the issues discussed thus far could benefit from being connected with colleagues and senior staff who have faced similar challenges in their career process. For instance, journalists battling the demands of work and life could benefit from engaging with other news workers who have learned to balance their work responsibilities with their home lives. These mentorship relationships are highly valuable and are known to mitigate job dissatisfaction, work alienation, immobility, and lack of career commitment (Sosik & Godshalk, 2000).

Within the happenstance model there are five concepts or skills useful when facing chance career circumstances, which include curiosity, persistence, flexibility, optimism, and risk taking (Sharf, 2013). Some of these skills are also relevant to one’s career well-being. Journalists are often told to walk away from their story when they reach a writing block. This is a proactive step to create distance in order to return to the story later with a fresh perspective. Since curiosity and flexibility are highly encouraged in this career model, counsellors can suggest to a journalist that exploring and getting involved in undertakings that are unrelated to the newsroom can reinstate their passion for their job (Chen & Haller, 2015). For example, a journalist who is worn out by the challenges discussed earlier can benefit from enrolling in a counselling programme or cooking classes. It is important to engage in self-care and pursue interests that can reduce stress.

When considering the use of both social learning theory and narrative career theory in practice, counsellors must be aware of their own biases and values. From a narrative perspective, counsellors must be conscientious not to allow their own personal stories to infringe on the stories of their clients (Sharf, 2010). Similarly, from the social learning happenstance perspective, it is important that counsellors engage their active listening skills and not force happenstance steps onto clients when they are dealing with issues that do not fit the model (Sharf, 2010). For example, journalists who might be dealing with personal issues such as divorce or death must not feel that these occurrences in their life are being framed into a career happenstance outline. Instead, they require the space to first grieve and cope with their loss before career issues are addressed.