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Pls ans if any idea.
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When someone in the creative department turns 40.
Come on now.
Worst bosses. And why. Go 👇
Any good agencies in San Diego area?
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Balance for me means that while work may encroach on my ‘personal time’, my personal life is allowed to encroach on ‘work time’.
It also means that I’m able to maintain a relationship, use all of my vacation time, and pursue hobbies.
Work life balance:
- 8-6pm work days with a decent lunch break
- WFH days when needed
- Occasional projects that require long hours
- Three weeks PTO a year to vacation
- Weekend breaks from e-mails
Etc....
Three weeks PTO is a pittance. Germans get seven, and for most of my career in nyc I’ve had 4+. We need to recalibrate normalcy for time off
I definitely don’t have it here. Working 50-60 hours a week because they don’t staff appropriately. Basically expected to check email nights, weekends and holidays. Ready for a move to get a better balance.
Feel this in my soul. I’m a very anxious person and freelance has really saved me lately. The current place I’m at has been awful. I work nights and every weekend (with multiple check-in’s during the day over the weekend so you truly can’t do anything). They just tried to get me to work the entire holiday weekend. I haven’t been sleeping bc I’m so stressed. And the only thing that saved me from crying at my desk the other day was knowing that there’s an end date. And I’m not stuck there. It’s sad that I’d rather be out of a job than be at that place. But also, this isn’t living.
oh god i hope you're not one of the writers with my agency but I know we definitely wring our freelancers dry. it is cruel, the expectations the agency puts on our creative team, because they are so reactive to our clients. I've had months of 60+ hours myself. i feel for you. ❤
I only achieved work life balance once I left the agency world and went in house.
Same .
I think that is relative. Lots of people on this industry has advertising as part of their life. And are really invested in the agency lifestyle. So I would say that they probably have a good work/life balance even though they are working long hours. For me is a job, to pay the bills I enjoy what I do up to a certain point but don’t really love it. I wish I had way more time to spend with my family and doing other things that I enjoy more even though I’m not working like crazy anymore. So I still don’t have a balance.
Agree with SAD1 in that it’s relative... when I was younger my balance was agency life being my life. I partied my arse off every night and my colleagues became my best friends.
15 years later I recently no balance whatsoever... working on a global business with a kid is insane. 6AM calls with Dubai and 10PM woth Japan on top of a full day at the office. I couldn’t even find time for a haircut or getting my nails done. My Sunday’s sucked with my daughter bc I was too stressed about Monday to have fun... I spent it getting things organzied for the week (laundry, food planning etx).
Now- I’m an agency person on the media publishing side and it’s AMAZING. I stayed late and didn’t need to last night but felt like I could get ahead and I was the last person here (massive office) at 630. I get to think and it’s my decision to miss a deadline and not get beat-up. I feel I have balance but admittedly I haven’t fully adjusted to it after 20 years of no life.
(Sorry for long answer)
SS1 by definition it’s a media company but owns a content publishing group so it’s a company that sells media and makes a ton of different content and creative for agencies... it’s a strange role but I love it. If you want to chat about the flip DM me. Have friends that went to Facebook, google and others similar. You gotta find your way out!
I like to think of it as checks and balances, because there will always be times it just has to be more work (pitches, productions, tight deadlines). So whenever I make extra deposits (weekends, nights, holidays) I just make sure I make equal withdrawals so I feel like the score remains even. That means following through though and taking what you’ve earned. I enjoy the flexibility and freedom that I accumulate. But I make sure I take it. And if the balance feels out of whack I course correct to maintain my sanity. It’s not perfect, but I’m making it work. Feels like I’ve achieved some semblance of balance without sacrificing doing award winning work. I tell the people who work for me to do the same. If I take their weekend, I expect them to take days during the week (once we’re done with whatever was driving us to be there) to make up for it.
Also a mom of two, if it’s worth mentioning.
I’ve long been a “work hard, play hard” type. I like to think that is balance but it may in fact just be wildly swinging out of control in both directions.
It means I’m not exhausted when I wake up in the mornings, not constantly extra jittery from too much caffeine (to have the energy from exhausting work hours). Weekend work is not typical...and being able to leave the office in time to get a pedicure before they close.
Strategist 1: Yes! But until that changes, keep vitamins and Advil at your desk. And always always have a full glass of water around.
You know you have it when your children aren’t perplexed to see you home.
Or calling you by your first name
For creatives, advertising is very competitive. And downright political and cutthroat at times. Constant deadlines. Where one team scores points and everyone else sits on the sidelines. Some people love this game. And thrive. But if you’re looking for balance, low-pressure and something that’s always easy breezy and structured, wrong industry.
There is no such thing. I’m a mom of two. It’s either career or kids and 90% of the time its career. That’s the demand and if my husband hadn’t been in advertising maybe I’d have caught a break. Nope. I’m the breadwinner and not happy about it. Don’t ever marry someone in this profession.
Work life balance to me means:
- 8/9am - no later than 5:30/6 pm. Not because I’m lazy, but because I like to work out or do yoga afterward and still have time to cook myself & my family a fresh home cooked meal.
- That unwinding time of 7pm-11pm is so crucial for me.
- No unnecessary “fire drills” on the weekends.
- WFH without it being frowned upon.
-overall flexibility. We are all adults here; if I do good work and meet all my deadlines why should anyone care?
Currently have a job with lots of work / life balance, but I’m in a stage of life where I’d rather be working more often. Grass isn’t always greener.
It means I do my work AT work and don’t feel pressured to give away my free time. I also think you can measure your work-life balance between how much distance you put between the time you go home to the time you go to work the next day. If you only have one hour left in your evening when you come home from work then you don’t have balance.
When I start thinking of work/life balance. It means I need to find another job because it means I’m settling for something I don’t really like to do.
Bbb
I think this says it all.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/worklife-balance-illusion-angus-tucker
I’d say that worklife balance would be the expectation that work should occur M-F between 8am-8pm, weekend work should only occur 3-6 times a year. And if the team has to work an entire weekend or past midnight a bunch, they should get that time back in some capacity.
My biggest issue is the assumption that because we have hours in the day those hours should be entirely devoted to a project and anything less is slacking.
@SMC1 That is a dream. Reality is closer to 9-7, 8, or 9 for me, save this month when all the clients went out on vacation.