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You should want your juniors to be honest with you. Being annoyed because you didn’t speak up when you were a junior is entirely your problem. Be a better manager than the one you had and talk to them. That being said just saying “no” is obviously not okay at any level but explaining what else they have going on or why they may not be able to help immediately is always encouraged .
It should never be no. It should be around how to prioritize
If you're asking your juniors to always be putting in 12 hour days for work that isn't good enough for their book, I think it's totally reasonable for them to consider self preservation and personal life ahead of the job to a certain extent.
Drives me crazy. Especially when I think back to when I was a junior.
One thing no one talks about is how much better you get at your job when enduring cycles of too much work. You learn to do the job better, faster, you learn what’s important and what isn’t, and you learn how to manage upwards. So, my broad advice is take it on and figure it out. It sucks in the moment but there are meaningful long term benefits to powering through, especially when you’re young and still establishing yourself.
So if I’m genuinely overwhelmed with the tasks I currently have on my plate—I should always say yes instead of being honest? What’s the right answer here
^that’s assuming everyone is a creative and every agency has PMs. I’ve never worked with PMs being in media. If you’re a manager your job is to manage. If you can’t handle it or if you’re just going to judge your juniors then step aside
It’s a new workforce. It’s life first, work second. Hire two of them instead of one.
Asking your boss how to prioritize your tasks is the equivalent of saying no without saying no. You still come off as a team player while forcing a discussion on your workload.
To elaborate, "yes I can do that but not under that deadline" or "yes, would be happy to help with that if I can take this off my plate" or "yes, can absolutely help if this thing I'm working on now can wait"
Get help to prioritize. I would also ask that the jr look around at what’s on other’s plates. Because someone will have to get it done. If you are the last one out the door every night clearly say ‘can’t take more on’ but be aware if you are not, because too often more work falls to the A players Work life balance is a great ambition but not at your peer or manager’s expense. That gets noticed
I think when anyone hits that point when they have too much on their plate/need a break they need to throw up the white flag. For the younger folk say it sooner rather than later to their direct boss or PM. Don’t feel guilty about it. We aren’t saving lives here people.
I'm seeing more juniors unwilling to put in the hours, angry when they're stretched beyond 9 to 5, yet they still expect raises and promotions. Not all, but definitely a lot.
Generally speaking, if you work harder and you do more work, you provide more value. And you're compensated and promoted accordingly. It's pretty simple and true in all walks of life. (of course talent plays a big role, too)
Asking for help to balance your workload and your work/life balance is perfectly fine. But I want junuirs to come to me with a solution instead of just saying no. ("I'll push back that other project to tomorrow so I can do this today, OK?")
If juniors want a more consistent job that respects 9 to 5 hours and tasks, it's likely not in advertising. If it is, then expect to be paid less.
Something that I learned at a non agency job that has followed me through professionally is the idea of, "yes, but" or "yes, if"...It's better than a no, it opens things up for a conversation, and manages expectations.
This is why you want to hire people over 50. Either they can already do it faster, or they knuckle down and work like a dog. They learned how to do that when they were juniors and no wasn’t an option
That's a conversation juniors should have with project managers, not their managers. If the workload is too much, the PMs can rearrange things.
Calling them “juniors” 😖🤮
I learned in America when people say “no”, they get promotion. But when they say “yes”, they are dumb.
If you are working 60-70 hours a week as a junior, that’s a huge red flag in my eyes (and I’m sure in many others). While yes, you can learn to work faster, I have seen teams burn through creatives when people catch on that they can demand crazy timelines or workloads and get away with it.
Juniors - expect to sometimes pull crazy hours. But if you are regularly working 12-14 hour days for weeks non end then ask for help. You are not servant. If you are working that hard, ask to be compensated properly. Do not kill yourself over some damn ads, we aren’t saving lives here.
I always tell juniors to set their boundaries early. I don't want to help perpetuate the sweat shop mindset of this industry. Everyone deserves to have a life outside of work.