The media is renowned as a sector in which people work under pressure. But that doesn’t mean you should put up with the extreme levels of stress that many journalists are facing in newsrooms today.

In today's media sector, Most journalists are now expected to produce more content than ever before. With round after round of editorial cutbacks, those journalists who remain are under huge pressures. It's time for employers to take responsibility.

• Take our quick stress test
• Find out more about our Stop Bullying resources
• Read about work already underway in Scotland
• Check out our NUJ reps' guide to tackling stress at work

For most NUJ members, pressure is an accepted and manageable part of their job. All journalists know how to work under pressure - it's part of what being a journalist is all about.

However, too much pressure, especially when it is constant, can be detrimental to your health and wellbeing. For many of our members, workplace pressures can quickly mount up and result in levels of stress that pose a risk to their health and safety.

HSE research in 2001/2 found that approximately five million workers in the UK experience stress and half a million believe it makes them ill, costing Britain £3.7 billion. A recent Mental Health Association of Ireland (MHAI) survey found that 35 per cent of adults claim to have recently experienced notable levels of stress, with 11 per cent saying that workplace stress interferes with their family life.

Many elements combine to create stress, including: overwork, bullying, job insecurity and low job control.

Stress can make you ill – mental symptoms include sleeplessness, listlessness, depression and the physical effects include appetite loss, nausea, racing heart and even strokes and heart attacks.

Workplaces with a high level of stress will inevitably suffer from high absenteeism, low morale, demotivation, high labour turnover and industrial relation problems. If any of these strike a chord with you – you are probably suffering from stress. Its no exaggeration to say that stress can be a killer.

Take our quick stress test to see if stress is affecting you.

 

Tackling stress at work
If you're worried that stress could be affecting you at work, talk to your NUJ rep straight away. Employers have a responsibility for the wellbeing of their workers and should take steps to ensure that people aren't exposed to hazards at work. That doesn't just mean checking for bare electrical wires and threadbare carpets - they must also take into account the dangers of exposing workers to stress.

The NUJ is campaigning for employers to take their responsibilities seriously. As part of our campaign, we will be running workplace surveys to assess the extent of the problem and to provide data to employers to prove that they must take action. If you receive a survey form the union, please complete it in full to help our campaign. On this website you can read about what we've already been doing in Scotland.

We've also got specific advice for NUJ reps about how the union can help them to raise the issue with their employer.

As a major cause of work-related stress, we also have specific advice on how to deal with workplace bullying.

 

Stress as a freelance
Whilst ensuring that an employer takes responsibility for their workers can help tackle stress in many cases, supporting our colleagues is also vital. That is particularly true for freelances, who have to face a whole range of potential pressures that can lead to stress. Achieving a work/life balance as a freelance can be incredibly challenging and many freelances work from home, which means they don't always have people around them with whom they can let off steam.

The NUJ can help by ensuring that our members get relevant support from the union. We have produced advice and guidance for freelances to help them protect and improve their wellbeing. This is based on responses to a survey conducted in 2004 and can be found in our Freelance Factpack.

We are currently conducting a new wellbeing survey of our freelance members to establish exactly what stresses they now face at work. All NUJ freelance members should complete the survey now.

 

Get involved
If you want to get involved with the NUJ's Stressed Out campaign where you work, get in touch with your local rep or email campaigns@nuj.org.uk.