Poynter Online - Morale, Motivation and Balance: Messages for Managers

Poynter Online - Morale, Motivation and Balance: Messages for Managers

Posted, Mar. 7, 2005
By Jill Geisler
(more by author)

I've been hearing voices. I can't get them out of my head.

The words come from journalists, talking about work-life balance. The voices sound like this:

True journalists will happily drop whatever they're doing when news breaks or crisis hits. I think we too often exploit that and take it for granted. We come to rely on dedicated people to consistently go the extra mile, even just to get us through our daily business. Every routine thing becomes a crisis and requires extra time and energy from key people... People are better journalists and managers when they have a life outside of work.

And this:

We should bring our whole life experiences to our jobs as editors and reporters trying to reflect our communities in our coverage. Instead, we're asked to leave our lives at the front door when we walk in the building. I feel at times that I have to pretend that I don't have kids...

These voices are among the hundreds who responded to Poynter's recent survey on work-life balance. Messages from that survey of journalists and media leaders are:

• Staff cuts have added work and stress to newsrooms. (Long hours, missed vacations.)


• Work-life imbalance takes a toll on health and relationships.


• Young journalists, racial and ethnic minorities and women are most likely to leave journalism because of work-life balance issues. (But don't assume men or single employees don't want balance. They do.)


• Supervisors play a key role in making things better -- or worse.

That last message is why I want to focus on the role of the supervisor and offer some advice, drawn from the voices in our survey. I'm not suggesting managers are responsible for cutbacks ordered by the corporate offices above them. But they are the people whose daily decisions and interactions have a direct impact on journalists and journalism.

We invited journalists to write about supervisors who had a positive or negative influence on their work and lives. I read hundreds of those comments and can only try to capture the depth of feeling they express.

Let me offer blessings to the supervisors who are doing things right. The journalists who work for you speak with praise and loyalty. Listen:

I'm the caretaker for a seriously ill family member. My supervisor is fully supportive in helping me juggle my schedule to meet the needs created by the illness. He lets me know that family is the No. 1 priority and does not make me feel guilty. That relieves me of additional pressures. I make sure I give back in return.

My supervisor checks in to make sure that I am not approaching burn out. He encourages me to take my vacations and to balance all my roles. He is the first supervisor I have had in nearly 10 years who takes that time to check in.

I work in an unusual newsroom. My news director is a working mother and understands the pressures and extra responsibilities. That is one of the main reasons I have stayed at this medium market station and have decided not to pursue work in a larger market.

When I work an extraordinary amount or come in on a vacation (which happened at Christmas) she encourages me to take another day off. But she is in the minority and the culture of the newsroom is that the long hours are expected and you're a wimp if you take off.

That last voice is an important reminder: Only 50 percent of our respondents described their supervisors as actively supportive of work-life balance -- not just talking about it, but acting.

What about the unsupportive?

• Some unsupportive supervisors may believe their approach is simply good management: getting maximum productivity. But our survey demonstrates the fallacy and risk of that logic.


• Some unsupportive supervisors may not realize that they are seen so negatively by their staff. Theirs may be sins of "omission" rather than "commission." Balance may not be in their lives and therefore not among their priorities.


• They may assume it is out of bounds to inquire about peoples' personal lives. They may assume if people don't complain, all is well.


• They may feel powerless to change company policies about flex time or job sharing or fear that any accommodations they provide might be perceived as playing favorites, or worse, illegal.

But there are things that front line managers can do to build a better workplace. From the voices of the many journalists in our survey, I offer these 10 tips. I sincerely believe they lead to better motivation and morale.

Ten Keys to Morale and Motivation: The News Manager's Role in Work-Life Balance

1. Aim high in your journalism. Know enough about your journalists to help them do their best work. Know them as people, not just producers.

2. You might love your job so much you could live in the newsroom. Many wonderful journalists do. Just remember that your staff isn't abandoning you -- or journalism -- when they leave at the end of their shifts.

3. Journalists expect to work extraordinary hours on big stories, but... They resent extra work that grows from management's faulty systems, planning or communication around news of the day. Your failure to plan should not create their emergency.

4. Journalists know that stress and overtime come with the job, but... They resent enduring it because of chronic understaffing. Be an advocate for realistic resources. Managers have to "manage up" (communicate, not whine) to their bosses to keep them informed about real challenges.

5. Distribute work equitably. Don't punish your most skilled staff by asking them to carry additional loads for chronic underachievers. That's where your rigorous work of performance management comes in and helps everyone.

6. The manager's praise defines the team's priorities. Never stop praising good work, sincerely and specifically. Just remember that people read things into your words. Your praise defines the expected "work ethic" of your group. Be specific about what standards you apply when evaluating the work ethic of your staff.

7. Be your best when people face their worst challenges. When your staffers tell stories of a critical moment in their lives -- illness, childbirth, divorce, bereavement -- how will they describe your role in the saga? Hero? Uninterested bystander? Villain?

8. Support people's celebrations of life's happiest rites and rituals. Remember the importance of childbirth, adoption, nuptials, family and academic achievements. Acknowledge that recently acquired black belt, softball trophy, or even the goofy vacation photo. People shouldn't have to check the joys of their personal lives at the newsroom door.

9. Don't pit the single against the married, or the childless against the parents. Work-life balance is important to all employees. Don't assume that the young, single or childless on your staff aren't as deserving of work-life consideration. Get to know your staff so well that you can make decisions that are fair for all and good for your organization.

10. Create a climate where people look out for each other. When people know what's expected of them, when they feel people share the work, when they are cross-trained and can cover for each other, and when they believe you trust them, they will solve many of the scheduling issues that often end up on your desk. You can then spend less time managing the process, and more time leading the people and the journalism.

I leave you with one last voice from our survey that stays with me: a journalist who requested an accommodation for work-life balance issues, and who said the manager "pulled out all the stops to keep me":

The message I would like to share with other leaders of journalism organizations is this: I would do ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING for that boss.

Hundreds of journalists told us about the joys and challenges of their daily work. Are there people in your newsroom who hope you'll hear their voices, too?

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