Your inbox can fill up quickly, your to-do list grows at a rate of knots, and your workload can often increase at the drop of a hat; probably sounds familiar if you’ve worked in a digital marketing agency.
While it’s fun and rewarding, it doesn’t come without its challenges. 92% of people in agencies have suffered from poor mental wellbeing, compared to 62% of the wider population. That’s an astounding statistic that seriously suggests that things have to change.
The Covid-19 crisis has shone a light on the need to work on better work-life balance. How can digital marketing agencies improve the wellbeing of their people?
Work-life balance
‘Go hard or go home’ is a phrase that has no place in the modern workplace. This kind of mentality can lead to burnout, stress, and anxiety. It’s up to senior team members to be more considered in their messaging when motivating their teams. We all need to remember that rest has its place in productivity too.
Creating a positive culture in the workplace and communicating effectively is key here. Setting realistic deadlines and not expecting your team to do excessive overtime can go a long way to relieving stress. A better work-life balance results in better performance and increased productivity in the long run.
Knowledge and awareness
Educating teams on mental health helps to reduce the stigma and is hugely valuable. Knowledge sharing around wellbeing and mental health can also provide the skills required to recognise symptoms and provides the confidence to address potential issues. Management should be trained and equipped to spot signs of work-related stress and anxiety and should be aware of ways to help teams avoid falling into these traps.
Education is one thing. Culture change is another thing entirely. On top of your training, it’s important to implement practical mental health support into your business. No one likes tick box exercises!
Employee assistance programmes are available to help your digital agency offer support. These programmes provide support for mental, emotional, physical, and financial wellbeing. Often these services are available 24/7 and can be a great help to employees who might be struggling.
Recognition
Your digital agency’s most important asset is your people. The mental wellbeing of your people is as important as the other essentials your business needs to run. It’s vital that the talented people working hard to make a success of your business are recognised and valued. Achievements should be celebrated and hard work should be rewarded.
By the same token, talent should be developed and nurtured. Creative individuals can quickly become fed up when they no longer feel like they’re being challenged. This is why your digital agency should put people development at the top of your list of priorities. Employees that are given the opportunity to grow and are involved with the future of their role within an agency are usually happier and more engaged.
Wellbeing in the workplace is an issue that the digital marketing world has been battling for a long time and it’s now time to make changes. It isn’t about ticking boxes and offering a handful of perks. Wellbeing issues are rarely fixed with free fruit in the office!
At Coact, we firmly believe that our platform can take the stress and hassle out of client reporting. If your agency would like to arrange a free demo, contact us today.
