STRESS OF JOURNALISTS: INFLUENCE OF JOB DEMANDS ON THE JOURNALISTS’ INVOLVEMENT IN ACTIVE SOCIAL PARTICIPATION AND EXPERIENCES OF MENTAL HEALTH

Background: Journalism as a profession is quite challenging in nature as it is full of pressurized situations, strict deadlines and constant vigilance to be accurate and be upright in the reporting. They usually place the journalists between the processes of information distribution and the discourse among the public, and it may cause in these representatives of the journalist occupation plenty of emotional and psychological tension. The stress factors that are attributed to this profession can also have an effect on not only the mental health of the journalists, but also in the active participation in the society. (Bustamante-Granda et al., 2021). Purpose: This article investigates how job demands affect journalists’ engagement in social activities (hypothesis: H1) and mental health (hypothesis H2). Using the twin-cities (Islamabad and Rawalpindi) survey, we examined whether heavy work demands (long hours, tight deadlines) predict reduced social participation and poorer psychological well-being. Framed by the Job Demands–Control–Support model and stress-buffering theory. Methodology: We revisited the thesis dataset (n ≈ 503 journalists). Job demands were measured via a composite scale of hours, deadline pressure, and traumatic exposure. Participation in social activities was assessed by items on frequency of engaging with family, friends, and community. Mental health was gauged with a standard distress inventory (e.g. Using standardized scales such as GAD-7 and PHQ-9). We ran Linear Regression Test: first for job demands and social participation, then demands and mental health. Results: The results indicate that higher job demands are not significantly associated with both lower participation in leisure and family activities and worse mental health (higher stress/depressive symptoms). Conclusion: Excessive job demands neither significantly reduce journalists’ social participation nor deteriorate their mental health.