Abstract
Maintaining work–life balance has been a continuously challenging is-
sue in communication industries, with some authors raising this issue
in the early 2000s. However, there are hardly any studies analysing the
work–life balance in depth; studies mainly call for this research agenda.
Therefore, to explore the issue of well-being in mass communication in-
dustries, we launched a survey on mass communications practitioners
exploring issues such as employee and employer engagement, work cul-
ture and relationships, work–life balance, work–life conflict, job satis-
faction, well-being, and networking, perceived gendered discrimination
and sexual harassment, relationships and support, work, and commu-
nity engagement and freelancers. In this chapter, we focus on freelancers,
and the results show that practitioners spend too much time working,
which impedes opportunities to visit friends and family and have time for
themselves. Gender differences are particularly visible among freelanc-
ers where life satisfaction is higher among men as opposed to women;
male respondents report a positive effect of networking if they freelance,
whereas women report negative sentiments, and finally, men feel more
left out of career opportunities if full-time but not freelance, whereas
women report general sentiment of being left out. One of the conclusions
of the survey is that if one is a woman, one should not be freelance in the
mass communication industry. In addition to that, networking seems to
present a well-being issue, particularly for women.
sue in communication industries, with some authors raising this issue
in the early 2000s. However, there are hardly any studies analysing the
work–life balance in depth; studies mainly call for this research agenda.
Therefore, to explore the issue of well-being in mass communication in-
dustries, we launched a survey on mass communications practitioners
exploring issues such as employee and employer engagement, work cul-
ture and relationships, work–life balance, work–life conflict, job satis-
faction, well-being, and networking, perceived gendered discrimination
and sexual harassment, relationships and support, work, and commu-
nity engagement and freelancers. In this chapter, we focus on freelancers,
and the results show that practitioners spend too much time working,
which impedes opportunities to visit friends and family and have time for
themselves. Gender differences are particularly visible among freelanc-
ers where life satisfaction is higher among men as opposed to women;
male respondents report a positive effect of networking if they freelance,
whereas women report negative sentiments, and finally, men feel more
left out of career opportunities if full-time but not freelance, whereas
women report general sentiment of being left out. One of the conclusions
of the survey is that if one is a woman, one should not be freelance in the
mass communication industry. In addition to that, networking seems to
present a well-being issue, particularly for women.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Gender and Freelancing in the Communication Industries |
| Subtitle of host publication | Experiences, Practices, Discourses |
| Editors | Anca Anton, Raluca Moise |
| Place of Publication | London |
| Publisher | Emerald Publishing |
| Chapter | 4 |
| Pages | 57 |
| Number of pages | 76 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-1-83549-153-9, 978-1-83549-152-2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 16 Sept 2025 |
Publication series
| Name | Women Economy and Labour Relations |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Emerald Publishing |
Keywords
- Well-being
- workplace culture
- women
- freelancers
- mass communication industries
- networking
- UK
