Advertising industry needs to rethink mental wellness approach

Seven in ten people working in the advertising industry think mental wellness needs more focus, according to a new report from NABS. 

The support organisation for the UK advertising and media industry finds “a community in the eye of the storm” – one that’s affected earlier than other sectors by the waves of change that are leading to increased levels of stress and burnout.

Why mental wellness matters

NABS CEO Sue Todd reports that demand for its services has increased by 66% over the last three years. “People in this industry are seeking emotional support, and it’s a challenge we all need to rise to,” she says.

Key findings

• People are experiencing the industry differently – a lived experience gap, not a generation gap – and this directly impacts their mental wellness. To address mental wellness, there needs to be better mutual understanding.
• A lot of the burden of mental wellness in the workplace is falling on managers who are often inexperienced and underprepared. To advance mental wellness, they need to be supported.
• Decisions about how and where people work have unequal effects and unintended consequences. New ways of working need clear principles to succeed. 
• The gap between policy and practice is becoming a chasm. The initial – and necessary – response to mental wellness has been to create new policies and initiatives, but this has created expectations which are not yet fulfilled.
• While mental health is starting to be destigmatised, those most likely to suffer are still those least likely to be heard. The mental wellness conversation needs to be opened wider.

Advancing Mental Wellness Together is based on 67 in-depth conversations, in groups and individually, with people in every part of the industry and at every stage of their careers, and two pulse surveys, with a representative sample of 1,121 people.

Sourced from NABS