Dear adland: Talking about the industry’s mental health is no longer enough, it’s time to take responsibility
56% of the industry shows signs of depression. And the only way to improve that number is to start doing something about it, writes Quiip's Amber Robinson.
I have fond memories of working for large advertising companies in my 20s – brilliant colleagues, exciting clients, insane parties. We did amazing work and I learned so much. But I also can’t reflect on that period without thinking about what made me leave: my first anxiety attack after a particularly hideous client WIP in which the senior account manager bailed, I was left to run the meeting as a junior, and I was thrown under the bus by a media agency also involved.
And the consistent overwork, plus being compensated by excessive amounts of free alcohol as a ‘perk’, took a toll on my physical health. There was a lack of any form of workplace support at the time, with no HR team or any process for escalating complaints. I could go into the rampant sexual harassment (this was a good decade or two before #MeToo, but I’m sure you get the point). At the time, I thought my experience was unique. I thought, maybe, I just couldn’t handle the pressure.
I’ve since transitioned to the online media industry, which has its own share of issues. Overwork, burnout and online toxicity are the chief concerns. Thankfully, with time, experience and greater self-awareness, I’ve developed much better coping skills to deal with them.
“Not many of us want to do the downward dog with the CEO”
And it’s been heartening to see adland leaders share their experiences in the form of the Heart On My Sleeve story book. De-stigmatising mental illness is extremely important in an industry where an alarming 56% of workers show signs of depression.
We can’t take all the stress out of working in the advertising and media industries (hello – the frantic pace is half the fun!) but we can build resilience in ourselves and our workplaces to better cope when times are tough. ‘Resilience’ is the process of adapting well in the face of stress, suffering or trauma, and I really like the term because it acknowledges that bad things can and do happen but that we can bounce back.
Individuals can’t be resilient on their own, however. They need supportive, resilient and healthy communities around them to thrive. Currently though, only 46% of workplaces in the media, marketing and creative industry have a mental health policy in place, despite the industry having double the rate of anxiety than the national average. Employers clearly need to step up.
Self-care has to be embedded at the organisational level. Build it into your culture, lead from the top and nurture it as a practice within your team. Take threats to employee health and wellbeing seriously.
The Australian Community Managers Network heard of an instance where one community manager had an online stalker and her workplace did nothing. In fact, for community managers who have been harassed or bullied in the workplace, only 26% received support from their employer.
Do give your workers access to outside help via an employee assistance program. Encourage flexible work options and schedule meetings in regular work hours. Reconsider sending emails outside core hours, or at least lose the expectation that they should be answered during what should be leisure time.
Teach employees to look out for each other and recognise when someone isn’t okay, or when their behaviour seems slightly ‘off’, which could indicate that mental health is on the decline.
Let your teams discover what self-care and wellbeing initiatives look like for them, rather than imposing one-size-fits-all initiatives like lunchtime yoga, because, let’s face it, not many of us want to do the downward dog with the CEO.
For some people, this could mean working from home one day a week, for others a lunchtime sports team or some fresh fruit and healthy snacks in the office. A supportive culture where it’s okay to say ‘no’ to unreasonable demands is also tremendously helpful.
These are all simple, low-cost initiatives, realistic mindset and culture adjustments rather than huge financial investments or enormous change programs.
Individuals have a role to play too. Part of self-care is walking away from workplaces that don’t support you and setting healthy boundaries with your manager and team.
Our industry now has a benchmark for mental illness of 56%. Talking about mental illness isn’t enough to bring that number down – it’s time to take responsibility.
Amber Robinson is a social media strategist at Quiip
Great words Amber
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Great article about an important issue.
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An article about how writing articles about mental health is insufficient.
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Fantastic article Amber. It’s great that we are now able to talk about mental health more openly in forums like these, however there is still a stigma attached to talking about it in the workplace, although it is starting to change, slowly. As a coach & facilitator I work with many of these themes with my clients. Whilst it’s great that many companies are investing in people like me to support their talent, it’s what happens day to day that’s vital to changing the status quo. It’s the habits & behaviours we practice daily that make the biggest difference. Agencies & media companies alike need to focus on giving people the support they need, including being aware of the warning signs, so they can thrive (rather than just survive) in such a fast paced, high pressure industry.
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Very truthful. Thank you for highlighting!
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You’re right – although hopefully the practical tips I’ve included go simply beyond awareness-raising.
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Working for large advertising companies in London in my twenties, I was thrown under the bus virtually every day. Back then, it was considered to be part of my training, partly to toughen me up, and partly to gauge how well I could cope with unexpected situations, such as the Account Director succumbing to a sudden illness (hangover) and leaving me to run a Client presentation solo. Interestingly, I never considered it as a mental health issue, perhaps because this practice seemed to be prevalent at the time, perhaps because the insane salaries and perks numbed me to any notion of mistreatment by my employer. To my knowledge, only one of my colleagues ever complained, and he disappeared quietly and suddenly, with rumours that he had been transferred to a branch office in Mexico….
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Very good points and well made.
A question that needs to be asked on the burn out rate and stressed employees is how in God’s name do the big media agencies get in all these top places to work?
Is it that easy to trick the judges?
And then all the pictures of CEO’s and the Gestapo, erm I mean HR , prancing about on stage and telling all who will listen that they are the best place to work.. ever!
So are they really listening?
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Agree with you 100% Amber. Its time to act upon based on the awareness some great and gutsy people have come forward with so far. Having been in this industry for more than 8 years it has taken a toll on my mental health and getting zero support for this from my current employer who tried to push me out on this basis doesn’t help at all.
Just wondering what criteria is adopted when awards are given for categories such as Talent & Culture. Are there testimonies taken across employees anonymously to support what has been submitted. Some of those ward recipients are highly questionable.
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Not all big media agencies are created equal. I work for one now which actually values its staff and invests in their futures. So that means we are paid properly, we work reasonable hours, we are encouraged to take our holidays, and we have management who not only listen, but act on our suggestions for betterment.
I’ve worked for agencies elsewhere, big and small, who don’t do these things and it quickly becomes part of their reputation. The reality is that work life can’t be perfect all the time, and stresses and strains ebb and flow – but if it’s only flow and no ebb, then it’s simply not sustainable and no amount of yoga or kombucha will fix that!
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Great article, too many companies ignore their toxic culture issues and the effect on the mental health of their employees.
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Nobody is asking for a perfect work-life balance. If the industry is now a benchmark for mental illness, that speaks volume. The request is for overhauling the industry work ethics.
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Amber has the answer
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Looking at you Willie Pang and Group M to lead the way!
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I feel Adland defined the term “thrown under the bus” for me. I still to this day have dreams about similar situations you mention above about being thrown to the Client “wolves” during my career in advertising and being left to drown after being sold the dream of mentorship, flexibility, “culture”. I’ve also had senior Director’s (more than once) make up blatant lies and point the finger at me personally to cover up business failings in order to keep the smoke and mirrors of professional competency up. The worst part is, agencies will continue to put the Client over their teams, regardless of how they sell themselves to the recruitment market. Profit over people is still well and truely alive, within the Melbourne and Sydney landscape anyway.
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More is being done. Read up about the group behind the heart on sleeve book. they’re industry volunteers from
All across industry. Very interesting what they’re doing. More of an underground movement
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Yes thats exactly the same question I am asking. Those awards for best places to work is a nothing by false claim. Awards are given off based on who is in bed with whom. MFA needs to reconsider the Talent and Culture awards.
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i agree. this just feels like we had a few too many beverages woke up regretting life and wrote an article. why are we becoming such a bubble
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Can I just say… Our industry is terrible at many things, but there are in fact many initiatives the industry is doing to tackle this important problem.
I have seen TBWA Sydney has a great program in place, as does the Publicis Group, so PLEASE lets do more, totally agree, but also lets help, share and be proud of what is being done at the same time.
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Most of the big network are terrible in this space. Will they fix it …. or just die off..?
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Who made it a benchmark? Compared against what? I’d suggest the emergency services are among many others who have w-a-y more problems than adland in the mushy noggin department.
There are far too many “woe is us” stories from this corner for my tastes. It appears many don’t know when they are on a good thing.
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Yes they are doing great work and it’s great to see the momentum happening. At Quiip we’ve also launched Resilience Training for Community Managers which was born from our work over the last decade, in particular working across many mental health clients. https://quiip.com.au/services/training-services/
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Thanks for this important article, Amber. Raises awareness well, and offers some nice and simple low-cost practical tips which can make a real difference. Bravo!
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That’s great to hear – I referenced a couple in my piece (Heart on My Sleeve and the Mentally Healthy study the stats are from).
Hopefully, companies who offer positive mental health programs will become more attractive employers, putting pressure on those who don’t walk the talk.
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The work culture of most agencies haven’t changed let alone evolved for decades.
Bullying, jerks, bad behaviour, long hours etc have been both the defining traits and bane of agency (no)life.
As a 30 plus year vet, I can identify three profound differences.
1- There’s no money to compensate for the crap one has to endure anymore. There was once an unspoken compact that there’s light at the end of the tunnel in terms of better pay, reasonable promotion and some form of job ‘security’ by getting into management.
2- Intolerance of toxic work environments (and rightly so). In all industries, not just ours.
3-Bravery to admit to some form of mental illness to justify sub-,non-,toxic performance. Playing the victim card is brave when its legit. But reasonable doubt is raised when it’s used as an excuse to explain away how they screwed up.
Turning up for a major presentation unprepared because one was blind drunk and out with strippers the night before and later blaming it on an hitherto undiagnosed mental condition with public mea culpas holds no water. Accounts have moved. Jobs lost and families have suffered.
Mental health is a serious issue. And it should not be used to justify failure or used as a topical platform to lobby for a another gig.
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