PRCA MENA has released the fifth edition of its MENA Mental Health Report, sponsored by Telum Media, highlighting a widening gap between mental health awareness and the everyday workplace reality of PR and communications professionals across the region.
Unveiled at the PRCA MENA Conference 2026 in Dubai as part of this year’s Reset the Mindset conference programme, the research drew on a sample of 261 respondents across the MENA region, with data gathered from 2nd June to 21st June 2026.
The study found 55 per cent of professionals experience stress, anxiety, or feelings of being overwhelmed often or all the time, while 41 per cent experience burnout often or very often. This comes despite mental health awareness across the industry continuing to rise.
While 76 per cent of respondents now consider themselves well-informed about mental health, up from 66 per cent in 2024, that progress is not being matched by employees' experience of workplace support. The proportion who feel completely or moderately supported by their organisation has fallen from 71 per cent in 2024 to 58 per cent in 2026.
Awareness is no longer enough
The report shows mental health is now firmly recognised as a workplace priority across the PR and communications industry.
Almost all respondents, at 97 per cent, consider mental health and wellbeing important to their overall quality of life. Three-quarters say they are well-informed about mental health and equally confident recognising signs of poor mental health in themselves and others.
However, PRCA MENA says the findings show awareness has improved faster than workplace behaviour.
More than half of respondents continue to experience stress, anxiety, or feeling overwhelmed often or all the time. A further 36 per cent report feeling this way sometimes.
Conrad Egbert, Head of PRCA MENA, said: "We've become much better at talking about mental health, but we haven’t been as good at changing the conditions affecting it. The industry doesn’t have an awareness problem anymore; it has an action problem.
"If people understand burnout but still feel unable to switch off, manage their workload or take time to recover, then another wellbeing campaign isn’t the answer. This now comes down to how we lead, how we manage people and, fundamentally, how we design work."
Workplace pressure remains the main driver
Work-related stress remains the leading contributor to mental health challenges, identified by 49 per cent of respondents in 2026. It has ranked as the most common factor in each of the three years covered by the research.
Other pressures have also become more pronounced. Financial concerns have risen from 37 per cent in 2024 to 48 per cent in 2026, while poor work-life balance has increased from 30 per cent to 42 per cent over the same period.
More than eight in 10 respondents believe their workplace has a moderate or strong influence on their mental health.
The most common workplace challenges include high workloads, at 38 per cent, long working hours, at 36 per cent, and poor work-life balance, at 35 per cent. The report also identifies lack of recognition, limited career growth, unclear expectations, and unsupportive management as additional sources of strain.
PRCA MENA says these pressures rarely operate in isolation. Heavy workloads can lead to longer hours, reduced recovery time, and weaker personal routines, turning what may begin as a demanding period into a sustained way of working.
The always-on news cycle is taking a toll
The report highlights the particular pressures facing PR and communications professionals in a fast-moving news environment.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents, at 63 per cent, believe recent global and regional events have increased stress within the industry. The report notes that these events often create immediate demands for monitoring, interpretation, crisis response, and stakeholder communication.
93 per cent of respondents say they find it difficult to switch off from news and current events because of their role, including 30 per cent who experience this to a great extent.
The report says staying informed is part of the job for communications professionals, but being permanently switched on should not be.
It also found 67 per cent say the nature of PR makes it difficult to disconnect more generally. Only 49 per cent rate their organisation positively for setting boundaries around working hours and communication.
Burnout is showing up in daily working life
The research found burnout is not only being experienced as a temporary response to busy periods, but as a regular feature of working life for many professionals.
41 per cent of respondents say they experience burnout often or very often, describing themselves as emotionally, mentally, or physically exhausted.
Changes in sleep or appetite are even more common, affecting 47 per cent often or very often. Difficulty concentrating or remembering, and excessive fear, worry or anxiety, each affect 39 per cent of respondents with the same frequency.
More than a third frequently report a loss of interest in activities or social interaction, while 35 per cent experience prolonged sadness or irritability.
The report says these findings are not clinical diagnoses, but they show how sustained pressure is affecting employees' energy, focus, and engagement.
Trust remains a barrier to support
The report found mental health is becoming more accepted in workplace culture, but psychological safety is still developing.
Employees overwhelmingly support colleagues taking practical steps to protect their wellbeing. More than nine in 10 respondents were comfortable with colleagues using flexible working, having deadlines eased, taking time off, or receiving a temporary reduction in workload.
However, 55 per cent still believe stigma is attached to mental health within the PR industry. Positive organisational ratings for reducing stigma have also fallen from 63 per cent in 2024 to 51 per cent in 2026.
The proportion likely to discuss a future mental health concern at work has fallen from 74 per cent in 2025 to 62 per cent in 2026.
The report states that privacy is the leading barrier. Nearly half of respondents, at 47 per cent, would prefer to keep concerns private, up from 35 per cent in 2024. 40 per cent do not trust that workplace conversations will remain confidential, while 33 per cent worry about a conversation having a negative impact on their career. Among respondents aged 18 to 24, that rises to 50 per cent.
Colleagues are becoming the first line of support
Among employees who discussed a mental health concern at work, 63 per cent approached a co-worker in 2026, up from 49 per cent in both 2024 and 2025.
Colleagues are now by far the most common source of workplace support. The experience is also largely positive, with 92 per cent of those who spoke to someone at work saying they were satisfied with the response they received.
However, the report says peer support should complement, not replace, trained managers and professional services.
Only 30 per cent of those who discussed a concern at work approached their immediate manager in 2026, although this was up from 21 per cent in 2025. Just 16 per cent say their organisation provides managers with mental health training.
PRCA MENA says managers are not expected to act as therapists, but they need to listen, understand confidentiality, make appropriate adjustments, and recognise when specialist support is required.
Employees want practical workplace change
The report found employees are increasingly looking for practical workplace changes rather than standalone wellbeing campaigns.
46 per cent of respondents want improvements to the working environment, 41 per cent want better workload management to prevent burnout, and 37 per cent want access to mental health professionals.
Employees also pointed to the importance of limits on after-hours communication, trusted leadership, manageable workloads, clear boundaries, and flexibility that improves control over work rather than simply extending the working day.
John Rynehart, Chair of the PRCA MENA Mental Health Committee and Managing Director, Middle East at Kekst CNC, said: "The communications industry no longer has a mental health awareness problem. It has an implementation problem.
"We know what drives stress, burnout, and poor wellbeing. The challenge now is whether organisations are willing to make the changes required to address them.
"Our collective goal should not simply be to help people cope with unhealthy ways of working. It should be to create healthier ways of working in the first place."
Flexibility has limits
Flexible working remains important to wellbeing in the industry.
Hybrid working is now the most common model among respondents, and 66 per cent of those working remotely or in a hybrid arrangement say flexibility has improved their mental health.
Nearly three-quarters, at 74 per cent, believe greater workplace flexibility is necessary to enhance wellbeing across the profession.
However, the report found flexibility alone cannot solve structural pressure. The proportion reporting that remote or hybrid working has improved their mental health has fallen from 72 per cent in 2025 to 66 per cent in 2026.
PRCA MENA says this does not mean flexibility has become less valuable. Instead, it shows that where people work cannot fully compensate for how work is designed.
High workloads, long hours, and constant communication can follow employees wherever they are based. The report says flexible working is most effective when combined with realistic deadlines, manageable workloads and clear expectations about availability.
AI is reducing stress for some professionals
Almost half of respondents, at 47 per cent, say the growing use of AI has reduced their stress or anxiety. Among respondents aged 18 to 24, this rises to 68 per cent.
However, 15 per cent of all respondents believe AI has increased pressure.
The report says the opportunity lies in using AI to reduce repetitive demands, including drafting support, summarisation, research, monitoring, and administrative automation.
It also warns that technology will not improve wellbeing automatically. Poorly managed adoption can create anxiety, unclear expectations or assumptions that efficiency should result in greater output.
The report states that AI should be introduced with clear goals and adequate training, and that time saved should contribute to healthier capacity, not only increased workload.
What communicators need to know
The MENA Mental Health Report 2026 points to a shift in the wellbeing conversation for PR and communications teams. Mental health awareness has improved, stigma has declined, and employees are more accepting of colleagues who need flexibility, time away or temporary adjustments. However, the report shows these cultural gains have not yet translated into a consistently healthier workplace experience.
For communications leaders, the next phase of progress will depend less on awareness campaigns and more on how work is led, organised, and measured. That means building trust around confidentiality, training managers to respond constructively, setting clearer boundaries around availability, and designing healthier ways of working where sustainable performance, recovery, and support are treated as part of the work, not separate from it.
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