Two-thirds of marketers have considered leaving industry because of poor workplace wellbeing
A generation of marketing and media professionals are at risk of "burnout" according to research which has shown that 64% of individuals working in the industry have thought about leaving it at some point due to poor workplace wellbeing.
Two out of three media and marketing professionals have considered leaving the industry because of poor wellbeing
The figures come from a 575-person study conducted by Nabs, the support organisation for the UK ad and media industry and mental health charity Mind.
36% of those questioned said they would describe their mental health over the past 12 months as either 'poor' or 'very poor', while 60% said work has had a negative impact on their wellbeing over the past year.
26% say they have a long term mental health condition.
Nabs and Mind have warned that the industry could loose an entire cohort of junior to mid-level staff if employers don't improve support in the workplace, noting that 77% of respondents were aged 40 and under.
The two charities came together to get a snapshot of what the industry's mental health looked like at The Drum's Do It Day event.
In November, the pair launched a five-question survey as well as a series of videos featuring senior industry figures like WPP's Karen Blackett and Mediacom's Josh Krichefski discussing what people should do to improve workplace wellbeing.
Although the majority said work had led to poor mental wellbeing over the past 12 months, a total of 46% of respondents said they wouldn’t feel comfortable talking to their line manager if work was having a negative impact on their mental health.
33%, meanwhile, said their senior leadership team doesn't do anything to encourage positive workplace wellbeing within their organisation.
Nabs chief executive Diana Tickell said: “It’s been encouraging to see many of our industry’s leaders respond to concerns around industry wellbeing, but this research gives us the clearest indication yet that we’re still simply not doing enough to care for the mental health of our teams, and much more remains to be done."
She added that this issue is reflected in Nabs' advice line, noting that 30% of calls come from people seeking emotional support.
"It’s vital, not only for employee wellbeing, but the success of our industry, that we train our managers and leaders to better identify and support the mental health of their teams," she said.
In response to the issues raised in the survey, Nabs recently launched its Shepard Model for Wellbeing which asks empoyees to take into consideration the seven elements that make up good wellbeing: satisfaction, health, emotions, perceptions, awareness, rewards and diversity. In 2018 the charity will be launching a series of services designed to support the industry.
Some agencies have kickstarted their own initiatives to improve employee health. This includes Wunderman UK which has launched an in-house wellness suite hosting exercise and workshops for employees.