Search results

The purpose of the study was to assess how the well-being and loneliness of public relations and communication professionals are impacted by the post-pandemic characteristics of the work environment: flexible work schemes, non-territorial office arrangements and video communication technologies. It was hypothesised that the post-pandemic workplace landscape poses several new challenges to the practice of PR – an industry which invariably relies on working with other people and demands a good level of social resilience. Loneliness and well-being both depend on the experience of having good and efficient social relationships, but the pandemic has directly and indirectly led to their deterioration.

The project employed a correlational design and used an online survey system to collect responses from Gen Z professionals employed in the public relations and communications industry in the UK and the US via the Prolific platform. Demographical and workplace-related characteristics were assessed to investigate links with loneliness (measured using a three-item scale adopted from Russell et al., 1980 in Hughes, 2004) and well-being (using a short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale scale). Causal relationships between data were tested using regression analysis for continuous variables and analysis of covariance for categorical factors. Bootstrapping was used to test mediated relationships that explain loneliness, job satisfaction and the well-being of Gen Z PR professionals.

Several types of flexible working schemes, defined as the ability to work from home on any number of weeks, showed an impact on loneliness and job satisfaction but not on well-being. However, all remaining aspects of the post-pandemic office did manifest as important predictors. In the sample, 30% of Gen Z PR professionals showed signs of mild to clinical levels of depression, and the best protection from this state was the presence of a significant other. Lower levels of loneliness were related to non-territorial office arrangements and job satisfaction. The use of hot desks and open-plan arrangements led to a significantly lower level of job satisfaction than a traditional, cellular office. Both excessive online meetings and face-to-face only interactions led to marginally lower levels of loneliness and job satisfaction.

The present research is limited in several aspects. Firstly, while the project evaluated loneliness, job satisfaction and mental well-being (with each of these elements including a component of the requirement for building effective relationships), the quality of relationships built by PR professionals was not measured. Secondly, the project focused only on post-pandemic aspects of the workplace and did not cover other important components of job satisfaction. Lastly, the measure of online meetings was declarative rather than behavioural, and greater control of the number of online meetings held would be required to show more reliable links between variables.

This study calls for proposing recommendations for employers to develop organisational-level measures and programmes to counteract loneliness. While traditionally intimate relationships of employees were not a direct focus of HR programmes, employers should develop elements of organisational culture that would support employees in building effective intimate relationships. Separately from this, despite immediate financial benefits, employers should avoid using open-space and hot desk policies, as they contribute negatively to job satisfaction (and indirectly to well-being). The sample of UK and US professionals was chosen for analysis because in these countries employers have more capacity to introduce changes to tangible characteristics of the workplace and work culture, which may positively impact the well-being of their employees.

It is expected that both employers and employees will revisit their approach to post-pandemic financial and logistic challenges related to the workplace. A lower level of job satisfaction and well-being is linked to the lack of assigned office space, but the ability to work exclusively from home leads to loneliness. Employees – when offered this possibility – should work in offices they are provided. Employers must appreciate the negative link between open and hot-desking policies and job satisfaction and well-being of their employees.

This study is the first to examine the post-pandemic workplace and personal characteristics of public relations and communications professionals in the UK and US and show how they impact job satisfaction and well-being. The study shows that 30% of employed in the PR industry are at risk of depression or anxiety. The connecting factor between personal and work-related characteristics that explains this problem is loneliness.

The paper aims to examine whether CSR communication about a company’s support for climate change created using different content framing categories (positive vs negative) can lead climate change-sceptical audiences to positively influence their evaluations of the credibility of CSR communication, of a company and its actions, and lead to higher purchase intentions.

The paper used an experimental design. About 266 respondents recruited via the Prolific platform were invited to participate in an online study. A between-subject design was used, and data was analysed using the bootstrapping technique, allowing to identify moderators of the relationship between CSR communication framing and different evaluations of a company.

The paper provides empirical support for the role of political preferences and climate change beliefs in predicting the preference for positive attribute framing among climate change sceptical audiences. It is argued that climate change sceptics are still in the process of deliberation about whether climate change is occurring.

The research findings may not be generalizable to countries where support for climate change is low, and a technique like attribute framing may not lead to noticeable differences in message reception.

The paper underscores the impact of the type of attribute framing in CSR communication on different aspects of company evaluations depending on beliefs in climate change. Commercial communicators should additionally invest in climate change education to address the climate change challenge.

Addressing climate change effectively requires support from companies to communicate their CSR efforts purposefully and to address climate change sceptical audiences.

The paper identifies beliefs in climate change as an important moderator of CSR communication attribute framing effectiveness.

The purpose of the project was to identify a mechanism of causal relationship between Brand Public Relations (BPR) and societal change in the perception of women gender roles.

Experimental evidence was obtained in three countries (N = 378) to examine the mechanism of societal impact of BPR. Effects of spillover of evaluations between two sub-brands of a house of brands company, caused by positive publicity about communication co-created by Public Relations (PR), were analysed.

Findings supported the existence of a positive spillover of evaluations. A mechanism of the societal impact of PR was also captured: an indirect effect of news stories about a non-objectifying portrayal of women in the male reference brand on the typicality of a non-stereotypical women role in society was demonstrated.

Experiments were conducted over a period of three years, during which publics perception of brands' communication about gender portrayal might have changed.

The paper argues for greater recognition of brand public relations professionals as co-creators of promotional brand communication. It gives evidence that one of the unique competencies of BPR is insight into publics and predicting long-term consequences of brand communication.

The findings of the research project suggest a mediated nature of influence of BPR on the perception of typicality of gender (women) roles in society. PR communicators should learn what areas of practice of PR require specific skills for the function of PR to develop the new competence.

This paper is the first one that aimed at establishing a common terminological framework of the societal impact of public relations.