Adland was in crisis before the pandemic in terms of mental health issues "so there is a very real risk things could get worse", according to wellbeing experts Fleur Marks and Sean Hall.
Marks has more than two decades of industry leadership, most recently as director of wellbeing and talent development for WPP AUNZ across 75 agencies, and now as chief wellbeing officer of consultancy WellYou.
Hall is CEO of human performance company Energx, specialising in the links between mental wellbeing and creativity and is an expert in burnout risk identification, prevention and recovery.
They have written a "part rally cry, part reality check for the industry" for AdNews to share with the industry.
"Our concern was that, given the results of the Mentally Healthy Study, our industry was in crisis before the crisis," says Hall.
"So we've devised a 10-step plan for creativity to thrive that any agency can follow to feel confident they have everything they need to support their people through this.
"This is informed from understanding what has happened in countries that are ahead of us in the curve and research collected via polls over the last two weeks from over 1000 people into their emotional state and preparedness for WFH full-time.
"What we know is:
- Mental wellbeing declines from Week 3, understandably with a higher likelihood for extroverts and ambiverts
- Only 20% of people love WFH, 62% say they can do it but don't love it
- 82% are being emotionally impacted to the point it's impacting their creativity
"Here's our plan ...
Sh#t just got real with indefinite lockdowns and a COVID vaccine said to be perhaps 18 months away. This is a challenge with no end in sight.
How we choose to show up in this moment as leaders has ramifications for each of us, our people and our industry.
Retaining our creative strength and taking care of our people will be vital to our commercial survival and protect our industry culture to continue to attract amazing talent.
We know the toll of stress and uncertainty on wellbeing and creativity is significant so we must act with urgency. The experience of countries ahead of us shows that mental wellbeing goes downhill from Week 3.
Further, there is no precedent set for what lies beyond six weeks. With the prime minister talking about lockdowns being a minimum of six months, we need to accept that any semblance of "normal" is some time away.
So we’re left with three choices: We can choose to thrive, to survive or decline.
We believe the industry can be a shining example of the words of Leo Varadkar, prime minister of Ireland, who said; “In years to come, let them say of us: when things were at their worst, we were at our best.”
So, how can we foster creativity right now? We can start where all great briefs start, with real data and insights on how people are feeling right now, and what is impacting their creativity. As with any crisis, people will be dealing with this experience differently.
Over the last two weeks, through polling in virtual Masterclasses to over 1,000 people, we have come to understand two things:
- The impact of how prepared people feel about WFH full-time situation directly impacts their emotional state
- Their emotional state, on the spectrum of Fear to Flow, is inextricably linked to creativity into thinking we’re just WFH right now. The reality is that we are confined, trying to work. We also know many are likely to be experiencing an extraordinary combination of conscious, subconscious and unconscious stress, undoubtedly distracted and feeling overwhelmed by information and misinformation.Adjusting to their new norm and beginning to fatigue as the reality of this situation sinks in.
While some stress can foster creativity, this kind of ongoing stress will quickly diminish creativity if we do not get on top of it fast. So, we need to take quick action now.
Here’s a 10-step sustainable plan that can be implemented immediately to foster creativity and wellbeing:
- Create the capacity for change. Dedicate 90 minutes a week to connect, learn and practise how to be well with new skills that will help them perform under pressure. Preferably at the same time for everyone role modelled by the leadership team. That’s less than 4% of the working week to positively impact the other 96%.
- Seek to understand to address core needs at a personal and collective level. Check in regularly with your people on their emotional sentiment and keep the dialogue two-way and open.
- Teach practical wellbeing skills that build the mental wellbeing and resilience required to remain creative. Best practice is to use a wellbeing diagnostic to understand where to prioritise for greatest impact.
- Allocate space for focused work - create space to be creative and do focused work. Trial a Power Hour at the same time every day across the business to give permission for time to be creative and to not be "on" with others constantly.
- Be clear and compassionate as leaders no matter what decisions we face. Upskill leaders fast on how to lead through uncertainty by building their emotional intelligence capabilities.
- Respect and empathise with our collective differences in dealing with uncertainty. Validate the toughness of this situation. Reframe the challenges into opportunities and remain positive about what lies ahead while being authentic about not knowing what’s ahead.
- In this together - create a sense of belonging. Watch the language used to illustrate more "we"than "I". Over-communicate and celebrate collaboration regularly.
- Transition talent. Establish a transition program that fills future skills gaps and retains valuable talent.
- Charge our creative superpowers. Find a way to celebrate creativity in adversity as a collective. Maybe we assemble Team Australia to tackle the UN brief together?
- Take care of each other. As an industry, create opportunities to share our experiences and work together to protect our creative prowess. The MFA demonstrated leadership by immediately offering support to its members through a virtual interactive masterclass. We’d encourage the AANA, IAB, ADMA, and Comms Council to follow suit. We’re in this together.
Whatever steps we take now will pay dividends for the future, for creativity and for retaining our best people where they thrive, and deliver their best work in these challenging times.
So what choice will we make? Thrive, survive or decline?
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