Young media professionals want to talk openly about pressure in the industry

Several members of their association had already suffered burnout before the age of 30, JJS wrote in a statement on Thursday. The members reported, for example, that they would no longer dare to look at the mails during vacations or during an illness because they had already been reprimanded for it before.

Journalists generally have a good resistance to stress because they are satisfied with their job, Daniela Landau, a psychologist and lecturer at the MAZ Lucerne School of Journalism, is quoted as saying in the press release. This fits the example of a 31-year-old member of the association, who is expected in the office on Monday to have read all the Sunday newspapers correctly and to be able to do a follow-up story. "That means my Sunday is not only free time, but also consists of reading newspapers. For the most part, I enjoy it, but it can also be stressful."

Stress resistance also has its limits, writes JJS. However, many journalists - especially young ones - often exceed this stress limit. As a result, members have reported poor sleep, high caffeine, nicotine or alcohol consumption, constant stress, poor concentration, anxiety, burnout or depression.

These people would lose their enjoyment of the profession - and journalism would lose talent in the long term, the association fears. In the industry, however, these problems are kept quiet and "normalized. In the coming weeks, the association will therefore draw attention to the issue on its channels with podcasts, videos and texts.

In the contributions, young journalists will tell how their profession affects their mental health. In addition, the aim is to show what media professionals can do if the job puts a strain on them, how work and free time can be better separated, and how burnout can be prevented. It will also show what media companies are doing to support the mental health of their employees. (SDA)