Professional vs Personal

Digital spaces have transformed the way we communicate and interact with others, blurring the lines between professional and personal lives. With social media, our workspaces and private lives an overlap easily, this has it pros and cons. Being able to understand and manage this boundary between professional and personal digital spaces is important for mental health and well-being.

For many people working in public relations, professionalism doesn’t stop when the work day is over. Their reputation as a problem-solver and communicator follows them everywhere, including networking events on social media and casual conversations. There are expectations for PR professionals to be polished and always on. This can lead to their persona to be always professional and ready to represent the agency they work at or the company they work for.

However, maintaining this professional persona, not just at the office, is not easy. It is important to recognize that while a professional identity is key, it should not outshine personal values and time off the clock. Authenticity is very important to public relations type work, that includes people who work in PR, not just their clients.

Social media has made the intersection of professional and personal more complicated. Platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and X are used by PR professionals on the daily for networking, finding news and social media strategy work. This begs the question, where do you draw the line between sharing professional content and revealing personal life?

Boundaries would be the one word answer to that question, but that’s vague. The more I have had time to think about this, the more I come up with different answers, until I came to this conclusion; people need to make their own boundaries to fit their work/life balance needs and wants.

Without set boundaries in place, burnout is bound to happen more often. Which is why setting them is crucial. This might mean turning off certain notifications, and carving out time for activities that have nothing to do with work. Being honest with your coworkers and clients about this is very important for boundaries to work effectively.

When it comes to social media and what to post, it depends on the person, what socials and who has access to it. If you’re posting on linkedIn, i would recommend stepping into your professional persona side. If you’re posting on Instagram, that is gonna be up to you. I learned there is no outline for this but that there is a way to balance it.

The most successful PR professionals are those who find and adjust boundaries to their mental health needs. They know when to step into their professional persona and when to step out. By merging professionalism with authenticity and protecting their personal time and online activity, they not only have more fulfilling careers but also have better mental well-beings.