Understanding practitioner resilience in public relations

The nature of contemporary communication practice requires practitioners to be
resilient and is a critical skill for public relations practitioners in responding to
challenges, both personal and professional. The relentless pace of practice demands practitioners have the ability to solve complex problems quickly within an ‘always-on culture’ while simultaneously responding to the relentlessness of change. Resilience is now seen as new mindset moving away from its predecessor of being 'tough-minded' creating space for individual to show compassion and empathy without being lost to the drama of what is being witnessed in professional practice. This study investigated practitioners’ understanding of resilience and their enactment of it in the under researched area of regional practice. The lived experience of these practitioners
revealed both personal and professional protective factors used to enact resilience. Personal factors, such as positive relationships, strong support networks, self-efficacy, physical activity and self-nurturing activities were important for regional practitioners in maintaining their resilience. Professional factors including ongoing employment and organisational culture, highly developed communication skills, a sense of agency, emotional intelligence and adaptability were instrumental in building resilience in a professional context. This research showed resilience was dependent on the
interrelationship between personal and professional protective factors in enacting practitioner wellbeing. This study contributes to public relations and resilience scholarship by uncovering the protective factors in enacting resilience in regional practice contexts, deepening our understanding of how practitioners maintain resilience throughout their careers and exploring the multidimensionality of resilience within communication practice.