Dentsu boss resigns after suicide of overworked employee
The boss of one of the world’s biggest and oldest communications holding groups Dentsu has announced he will resign next month just 24 hours after the company was referred to prosecutors in Japan over the suicide of an employee.
Dentsu chief executive Tadashi Ishii said in a press conference he felt “deep responsibility as a person for overseeing the management of the company”.
Matsuri Takahashi, 24, jumped to her death from a company dormitory on Christmas Day 2015 after telling friends on Twitter of enduring harassment and overwork.
Ask any studio manager or finished artist at the sharp end of the agency stick and you will hear countless stories of unpaid 24 hour shifts during pitches and late nights having to stay back all in the name of service. Plus those contracts that ask for ” the extra hours needed to meet client deadlines ” which are set by inexperienced or just poor management. I myself once worked out that I accrued over 45+ days in leu ( that could never be honoured due to work load) and nearly 6 months of unpaid over time during a 4 year roll with a major Melbourne agency. It has become a industry standard to “burn” out studio and account management staff. Mental stress is a huge issue in this industry. If there was ever an enquiry into workplace hours, unpaid overtime and unrealistic work expectations in the the Australian ad industry then heads would roll. And let’s not disguise it with ” that’s the game we’re in” or some kind of initiation, its just plain exploitation in the name of profit ( caused largely by excepting reduced rates driven by the need to win client business) . Maybe it will take someone in the industry media to finally expose and highlight these unrealistic expectations placed on the people in the middle and lower rungs of the ad industry in Australia.
Surely I can’t be the only one to have witnessed this dangerous trend in our industry?
Spot on sir! Couldn’t agree more with what you’ve said here
This is the reason I chose to move to client side after only 6 months in Industry after graduating. You realise the reward isn’t worth the hours and pressure from management. Yet somehow these offices continually win best place to work awards? I’m not in a job that lets me see daylight and it was so strange at first.
It is ironic that an industry devoted to associating products with images of happiness and success should be so repellent behind the scenes.
@over it 100% agree.
Absolute exploitation for the benefits of fat cats in regional management.
I’ve experienced it at three high profile multinationals in Australia over the past 10 years.
Mumbrella, this issue is ripe for an investigation
@ over it
Very true.
I have longed for the day that someone has the chutzpah and dollars to test the contract clause stating “a reasonable amount of overtime” is expected.
As usual within the industry, it is the studio, junior creatives, junior planners and junior suits who get f#$ked over to keep the salaries of senior execs and holding company employees (overheads?) nice and fat.
No wonder the industry struggles to keep the gun young ‘uns from heading client side or into tech.
I’m not sure what it will take for there to be a serious look at what is going on in regards to work conditions in Australian agencies. Does it take a life being lost here for this to be taken seriously? What our agencies are able to get away with in terms of free overtime etc. is a complete joke – yet as already mentioned, many agencies somehow get given best places to work awards? I really loved the work I was doing for clients on the agency side and most importantly the people I was working with, but I will never go back because of the ridiculous hours.
All of these comments are 100% accurate. The industry just runs rough-shoot over its people. The big holding companies are the worst, thy only care about revenue, nothing else. But clients are also to blame with stupid deadlines. After all does it really matter for 1 second of a new toothpaste brand, or washing machine model is released a few days or weeks later. No. Crazy self-imposed and stupid deadlines, that damage people. AS all of the comments above state, this needs to stop.
It really is good to see people come forward and speak out about the issues raised here, especially during they’re well earned break. I’m asking Mumbrella to dig deeper and give this issue the same traction the gender issues in Australian agencies got at the end of the year (deservedly so). The Dentsu resignation happened in the Xmas down time, definitely no coincidence there. People are back to work now, being squeezed by clients and management who want ” to see something as soon as I’m back on the 9th”. It’ll be the hardest workers copping the new year smash in hours and very soon agency management will be yet again asking them to work back, unpaid, stressed, tired and under pressure to explain to partners and families why they’re had to do it. Adnews only just reported on the Dentsu issue today. Mumbrella you are ahead and could really do the industry and your followers some real good this new year if you continue to highlight the exploitation happening in our industry. Thanks again for the comments above, seems I’m not alone.
Hi ‘Over it’,
It’s definitely an issue we’ll be looking at and following closely this year – particularly as it’s only 4 January and I’ve already heard from a number of stressed agency professionals who are concerned about the expectations placed on them for 2017.
Feel free to get in touch if you have any other insights and stay tuned.
Vivienne – Mumbrella
Fantastic Vivienne. Looking forward to seeing Mumbrella dive into this space. Creative and media agencies alike have junior staff in particular worked to the bone, with ridiculous expectations on overtime and nothing done to stop it.
One extra point (and a pretty important one at that) for the CFO’s and heads of finance of the many agencies. People are not a commodity to churn and burn. Treating them as an asset to treasure with a real appreciation for the skills they bring into the agency is the only way to keep them there. Your creative directors, studio heads and Gads have spent precious months building strong teams for the clients only for you to push them out of the door because of unreasonable working hours and dissolution in the way their role has gone. It’s a huge waste of time and lost talent for your agency.
I’ve been in conversations where the CFO of a major agency has threatened to replace the senior studio staff members with off shore artwork for India (try getting that urgent PDF of revisions to the client with an immediate turnaround then) or even worst still forcing the studio head to hire 2 juniors for the price of 1 senior finished artist.
The pressure of studio and production people to go cheap is now a daily stress that takes everybody to breaking point. Even freelancers are being squeezed into “smashing” out a solution because the clock is ticking on how much time they are booked for. Remember those freelance “hours” are still being charged at agency rates to the client.
The end result is a poor product, where the craft is sacrificed and the all important client expectations falling short. Going cheap to maximise profit is literally killing the creativity that is the major draw card for those wanting to work in the industry in the future.
There has been quite a lot of discussion on the “broken agency model” in the last 12 months. Wouldn’t it be great to see a major Australian agency have the balls to stand up and change the working conditions and put an end to the unpaid exploitation of the “engine room”. And no another pool table or second microwave in the kitchen will not cut it.
Finally let’s not forget the reason for this discussion. Someone was pressured (professionally bullied) into a working situation that saw them take their life. It’s not only totally shameful but perhaps the darkest hour for our industry.
Time for real change in 2017
In my first year of advertising, my partner and I accrued over 1000 hours unpaid overtime in our first 12 months. EACH. It equated to about 25k or thereabouts that we were shortchanged salary wise. When we asked for a weekend off after working about 17 days straight, we were kindly reminded there were 20 other junior teams who went for the role who would be happy to work the weekend. What are juniors meant to say to that?
Suffice to say I won’t allow anyone to work me like that now, but its diabolical that it still happens to juniors every day in countless agencies. It needs be stopped. Client expectations need to be reigned in. Agencies need to set a standard that protects its young players. No other industry for stand for it.
If agencies were forced to offer hours in lieu back to staff for overtime worked (like many public sector roles do) you could bet that inefficient processes and poor management of resource would be solved.
Until then agencies will have shoddy processes and a complete disrespect for time of others as there is zero incentive to improve. Even the huge churn of good people has never been enough to make any material improvements.
Would be a huge statement if an agency offered this – time in lieu for any hours worked over 37.5 per week. Would send a big message to staff, middle management (who are the issue) and clients.
I agree with a everything that has been said already.
This is really a global & government policy issue, having worked in the UK and Australia it’s fair to say, it’s the same old habits across the pond, but much worse for far less money, and that’s not just for junior staff, I’ve seen Directors and Group Directors pull just as long hours.
Agency holding groups really need to take a long hard look at themselves, and the contracts they make employees sign. Having signed several contracts which may require me to acknowledge that working in excess of 37.5 hours per week is reasonable to fulfill my position, this is something that’s not new, but I guess we are all at fault for letting this practice go on for so long.
Clearly this issue needs to be solved at a much higher level and should be coming from the top down group level. But let’s not forget, this isn’t unique to media or advertising, the finance sector has been experiencing burnout and suicide from it’s work force for a long time, particularly over the recession.
Perhaps where the real reform is needed is at a Government level? Surely Government intervention into private workplace agreements could also help mandate the hours companies expect people to work?
I agree with everything everyone has said. I’ve experienced it myself. We’re all connected in advertising. Everyone knows everyone, and no one who actually has to do the ridiculous unpaid hours wants to go it. So.. Perhaps we don’t wait for the top down to do anything about it, but instead collectively take action. Teachers strike. Cabbies strike. Nurses strike. Airline staff strike. Why can’t we?