CreativeBrief asked a number of creative leaders to share their view on how agency principles should support their teams in a so-called wellbeing crisis. Our Managing Director, Rachel Cook, shared her views. Check out the excerpt below.
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Barely a day goes by in the creative industries without another hot take on the war for talent. In a candidate-driven market agencies and brands are having to rethink their value proposition for staff. Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to making a meaningful and positive impact on staff wellbeing.
It is easy to be flippant about the challenges facing staff. Yet data from NABS underlines that mental health challenges have increased significantly amongst advertising and media professionals during Q1 2022. Calls to NABS relating to mental health are up by 15% on both 2021 and 2020 figures, revealing a worrying upward trend.
These statistics underline that the pandemic has left its mark on people across the industry underlining the fact that building back better is an endeavour which must extend to the wellbeing of staff. With this in mind we asked a selection of industry leaders how employers can better support staff and prepare for the looming wellbeing crisis.
Feedback from Rachel Cook, Managing Director at ThreeTenSeven:
"We’ve recently seen big City firms offering flexibility in return for pay cuts while trying to balance this with token gestures like yoga and gong baths. This is a plaster-over-a-wound approach to wellbeing provisions for staff. We think more tangible, compassionate perks that coincide with no repercussions for hybrid working is what works. That’s why we offer a 24/7 confidential advice line for aspects of life that impact us like health, legal and bereavement support. Working within wellbeing, we believe counselling should be available for everyone, which is why ThreeTenSeven employees, along with their partner or children, have access to free counselling. We also have onsite mental health first aiders to offer immediate support, and Wellness Action plans which we feed into each Personal Development Plan (based on a format from our client and friends, Mind) to enable staff to look after their mental health.
Employers have a responsibility to look after their staff. That doesn’t stop at accident books and health and safety training, it must include mental health as well. No matter the size of the business, employers need to monitor and proactively improve the state of mental health in their business.
I recently met psychologist Rachel Lewis of Affinity Health at Work. She spoke about good work being about three things: good job design, work with purpose, and a safe working environment - that includes safety to speak up, to contribute and flourish, as well as to be mentally and physically free from harm. Get those right and you have the groundings for good mental health at work.
Read the full article on CreativeBrief.
