Agency bosses must take employee wellbeing as seriously as their firm's commercial health
As research by The Drum reveals that many marketing and communications agency staff feel dangerously overworked, Soraya Shaw and Lorraine Jennings of the National Advertising Benevolent Society (NABS) say agency bosses must do more to safeguard the wellbeing of their staff.
70 per cent of marcomms agency staff feel work affects their health
The results of The Drum's survey into pressures in the workplace make for depressing, but unsurprising reading (70 per cent of marketing and communications agency employees say work affects their health).
While thankfully we haven’t witnessed anything as dramatic as the recent incident in China, here at NABS we know that workplace health is a major issue. And while it might not be the presenting factor when people contact our Advice Line or receive coaching from us, it’s often there just below the surface.
Any attempt at creating a workplace where employee health is of primary concern must come from the top. Successful leaders know that they must take responsibility for developing a culture that takes employee wellbeing as seriously as it takes the commercial health of the organisation. Equally employees must also learn to manage their time and not fall into the trap of staying late to be ‘seen’ or to enter into unhealthy competition with their peers.
Yet in an industry that remains under constant pressure because of an uncertain economy, stress is always going to be a major issue, together with other connected health concerns. And as anyone who’s worked on global business knows, there’s a definite pressure for our working culture to mirror that of Asia and the US, particularly when liaising with clients based in those markets.
But when it comes down to it, it’s how agencies support their people that matters. At times that might mean taking some difficult decisions such as pushing back when clients make unreasonable demands. Or recognising that relentless and gruelling hours of unpaid overtime to get pitches out of the door will eventually take a toll on physical and mental health as well as morale. But fundamentally it’s about a company understanding that to protect the health of its workforce, things might need to change.
When you consider that our industry is so utterly dependent on talented individuals it seems counterproductive that the pressure of work and resulting burnout could mean losing them when they are at their most valuable to the business. The physical and mental health of those who work in our industry is simply not up for negotiation.
To this end, at NABS we are extending the work we do around stress and workplace pressure, building on our existing services with new workshops, literature and expert support to complement what we already offer.
The ultimate win-win scenario for everyone involved is when employers put measures in place to protect their staff from the effects of stress, including referring them to NABS. We are proud of our reputation as an impartial source of support and expertise which benefits both employees and their employers.
And when you also consider that according to the most recent Bellwether report, advertising revenues are rising once more to pre-2008 levels, isn’t that as good a reason as any to increase staff recruitment levels and help to manage workflow to alleviate work pressure and clients demands?
Soraya Shaw is NABS' head of careers and Lorraine Jennings is NABS' head of support