The fallout from COVID generally had a positive impact on the way agencies work but there is still a significant portion of the advertising industry that isn't happy, according to the latest research in Australia.
Many felt isolated, overworked and stressed with a lack of initiative by agency leaders to maintain a healthy and inclusive workplace culture.
On the positive side, others reported greater empathy, understanding and inclusion.
Research and a survey of 100 by Bond University, Swinburne University of Technology and talent providers Suits & Sneakers reveals a deep divide.
Close to half of study participants reported that the pandemic had had a positive impact on the way their agency organised work and ideation processes, but another 40% had the opposite experience.
“We were surprised to see how strongly the experiences described by our participants differed,” says Sven Brodmerkel, assistant professor for advertising at Bond University and lead investigator of the study.
“In the next stage of our project we would like to find out how some agencies managed to maintain a positive workplace culture while others failed.
“Which positive workflow innovations will have staying power now as we increasingly return to the office? What lessons can be learned from the pandemic disruption in terms of burnout prevention and effective mental health interventions?
“In short, how can we make agency workplaces fit for the future? For this we are looking for more participants, particularly women and young people, who are so far a bit underrepresented in our study.”
Comments from those surveyed:
- “COVID has brought us together more as an agency. […] If anything, we have thrived during COVID.”
- “Coming up with concepts from your own comfort zone has worked like a charm … remote work had a very positive impact on work culture, because we’re all in our comfort zone.”
- “The workplace is less kind to diversity and more abrupt and insensitive”.
- The agency has lost its culture completely. Nothing was done to ensure we remained a team.”
Many reported how the pandemic forced their agencies to improve workflow processes and overall productivity.
However, almost half reported that working remotely increased their workload and made them work more hours than in the office.
Comments:
- “COVID made everybody problem solvers to keep things working outside the office. Out of that experiment in the logistics of remote working, we figured out it’s more productive.”
- “COVID has been a catalyst. … Our work output has been tremendous both in insight, creativity, and effectiveness.”
- “I find that there is less BS and time-wasting working remotely. […] But the agency has changed dramatically as a result of COVID. Floor space shrunk, more people freelance. No care to mental health or stress given by management.”
- “COVID tripled workload and significantly hampered ‘occasional progress’. Even though it accelerated flexible work, overall, it was a devastating blow to our industry long term.”
Many expressed concerns about the nature and quality of ideation when working remotely.
However, there was also the opposite view, that remote work made the creative process more focused and efficient.
- “We didn’t miss a beat by going to remote working – ideation still happened as well as face-to-face.”
- “ …we adapted and found that we were able to ideate, pitch, present, and produce works perhaps more efficiently and successfully than we were before. Nobody wanted to linger for days at a time (as we would in an in-person ‘war room’) idly batting ideas around on a video call, so we worked harder, faster and more rigorously to get the best ideas quickly and then get on with making them.”
- “The overall work and ideation process are not as efficient/effective compared to pre-COVID. […] People tend to get distracted easily … They also don’t get involved in the discussions as much as they used to.”
- “Creativity is sorely compromised as there are no round table discussions with pen and paper anymore; we screengrab and circulate. A sad place indeed.”
The researchers want to learn more about COVID experiences and insights for stage two of the project.
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