ABSTRACT
This chapter presents findings from a study of the emotion management of professional relationships in PR, from the perspectives of directors and partners in public relations agencies in the United Kingdom. My aim was to examine the emotion management of the self and others from these senior-level perspectives. Fieldwork took place in 2016 and comprised in-depth interviews with two male and six female participants, supplemented by observations at four London agencies. Most participants saw their main responsibility as ‘doing the best work for the client’, reinforcing an identity of PR as an ‘entrepreneurial profession’ which is focused on selling creative ideas to organisations. Despite the continued need to focus on business growth within a highly competitive environment, however, a surprising finding was participants’ unwillingness to venture into potentially ‘fruitless’ relationships with clients. Millennial generation employees were recruited on ‘attitude’ and viewed favourably by participants; yet millennials brought their own demands (e.g. for flexibility and well-being policies), with implications for retention in an industry with high turnover and a skill shortage. Participants therefore looked for ways to reduce conflicts - and emotional risk - between clients and employees. Gender issues within the agency and the PR profession were the basis of concern for three female participants, highlighting patriarchal attitudes, as well as processes of exclusion and competing jurisdictional claims to PR expertise. Shifting ‘PR logics’ that included placing greater emphasis on relationships with social media influencers than the news media in some client sectors suggested an intensified PRP emotional labour. Agency directors were not only working within an unstable set of environmental circumstances, including unpredictable markets and technological innovation, but also managing professional relationships that brought their own dynamics and challenges.
