It’s Time To Address Local TV’s Burnout Problem

Having Fun, Anyone?

Time to admit the truth. I never really worked for a living. During three decades of running stations, I rarely took it seriously. It was fun, a game we all played. Sure, the stakes were high and there were occasional moments of sheer terror, but that was all part of the game.

The fun was spending every waking moment trying to win. Win ratings, win pageviews or whatever the latest metric, win revenue, win profit. That meant big highs, big lows and sometimes betting your job on a big idea. Ask any successful general manager and they will tell you pretty much the same thing. They will also tell you that lately something has changed.

After 18 months of being battered and bruised, no one seems to be talking about winning. No one talks about fun. So much has happened in such a short time that it is hard for people not to be overwhelmed, not just on the station level but also in many corporate jobs.

You know the list. A pandemic that just won’t end. Social upheaval in the streets. Political chaos, not just in Washington but in many local communities. The new awareness of the need for equity and equality. Learning to work from home. Learning to work back at work. Getting used to people calling you at home – at all hours. The vaccine mandate and its repercussions, including some coworkers choosing to lose their jobs rather than comply.

All piled on top of a debate over salaries and retention while trying to understand a new generation of employees who see their jobs very differently from the way ours did.

Normally, any item on the list would be enough to create a crisis. Television people are very good at dealing with crisis. The problem is that these have all come together without time for reflection or even a deep breath. So much has happened so quickly that one can’t help wondering what will be next.

According to the Mayo Clinic, “job burnout is a special type of work-related stress — a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity. Burnout is not a medical diagnosis, such as depression, but it can affect both physical and mental health.” Mayo lists “lack of control, unclear job expectations and dysfunctional workplace dynamics” as the three top causes of burnout. Any of that sound familiar?

The worst thing about burnout is that no one wants to admit they are suffering from it, which is perfectly understandable. Whatever your job, be it news producer, account executive or general manager, admitting to others that you are having a hard time coming to work is not going to happen. There is simply too much career risk. This is tragic because admission is the first step toward recovery.

All of this will eventually pass, but at what cost? The challenges to our industry are growing greater every day. What happens when an industry that runs on energy has a short circuit? Will this be the tipping point for weaker players?

It seems obvious to say that the companies quickest to restore high morale — and the drive and energy that come with it — will have a competitive advantage.

It also seems obvious that this is a CEO-level issue. Only the CEO can give company-wide recognition, offer perspective and provide appropriate confidential resources. If employees believe the CEO is a straight shooter who really does care about people, they will also believe the CEO’s vision of a brighter future, including company leadership in a changing industry.

Some CEOs may already be taking action. Let’s hope so because success is always built on energy, drive and fun. Right now, our industry needs all three.

Hank Price is a media consultant and leadership coach. He is the author of Leading Local Television, a guide to leadership for television general managers, as well as those who aspire to top leadership. Price spent 30 years managing TV stations for Hearst, CBS and Gannett, including WBBM Chicago and KARE Minneapolis, as well as three other stations. Earlier, he was a consultant for Frank N. Magid Associates. Price also served as senior director of Northwestern University’s Media Management Center and is currently director of leadership development for the School of Journalism and New Media at Ole Miss. He is the author of two other books.