Marketers are known to face challenges, changes, and crises. Working for long hours, meeting the expectations, and stretching out a bit is the nature of this profession. They are flexible enough to quickly read the nerves of changing customer behavior and adapting accordingly. But the last two years were remarkably tougher for their mental health.
Even 74% of UK marketers called the last 12 months “The most challenging time” in their entire career. Furthermore, 61% of them confronted that they have considered quitting the job at least once.
The shift in the marketing strategies from traditional to digital resulted in a surge of anxiety and stress amongst marketers. Team and client meetings have pivoted from in-person to digital. New collaboration tools and changed workflows are negatively impacting the mental health of marketers.
Everymind, Never Not Creative, and UnLtd conducted research, called “Mentally Healthy,” to understand the employees’ mental health in organizations. 1500 employees took part in the study, especially from the marketing and creative industry. The study revealed that 56% of respondents exhibit mild to severe symptoms of depression while 52% exhibit mild to severe symptoms of anxiety.
But what is contributing to the mental health issues of the marketers?
Fear of Job loss
People are losing jobs across all sectors. The news of mass firing and job losses every other day is scary for marketers. It is taking away the mental peace and constantly creating pressure to work extensively.
A survey conducted in May 2020 by Economic times reveals that 86% of the Indian employees are fearful for their job loss amidst the pandemic.
The pressure of Upskilling
Several organizations have pivoted from their traditional marketing to cope with the pandemic. The way they interacted with customers and marketing strategies changed a lot.
7 out of 10 marketers said they have to upskill in a short period, which is causing a lot of pressure and stress to their mental state.
Increased workload
Due to heavy layoffs in the organizations, the workload of the remaining team drastically increased. A survey In a survey report released by The Drum revealed that 95% of respondents consider their workload is negatively impacting their mental health.
A study by Markle revealed that 93% of B2B CMOs’ work was negatively impacted by pandemic. And 52% of the organizations have even increased the marketing spend. It resulted in building pressure points for marketers to meet the deadlines.
Organizations have also started recognizing the increasing Mental health issues in their employees. As a result, several policies are being formulated to cope with the rising concerns amongst the employees.
A study was conducted by GI Group on the mental health of Corporates. The name of the survey came out as All in the Mind: The State of Mental Health in Corporate India.
94% of the employers are aware of rising concerns over the mental health issues in their work environment. In addition, 70% of these employers consider mental health a critical aspect of their team’s overall performance, but only 9% of them are actively working on mental wellness in their organizations.
So, as an employer, what can we do to overcome the rising mental health challenge amongst your teammates?
Here are the few things you can improvise to support your team in dealing with mental health issues at the workplace –
1. Acknowledge the challenges pandemic has bought to the industry
The whole game of marketing has drastically changed in the last year. The way marketers collaborate, engage, meet, and interact has changed. The shift in the marketing strategies from traditional to entirely digital. All these rapid changes in the industry and working culture are causing marketers anxiety and stress.
To support them, it’s essential to convey the message that you understand. We know everything going around is tough; rapid adapting and transformations aren’t easy for you but don’t worry, we will bounce back altogether. Just a simple message acknowledging the challenges and application for their work can do wonders. So keep checking on how they are doing and how you can help them reduce their work stress.
2. Invest in Technology
Organizations have pivoted their entire customer journey into digital. They are working to engage with customers digitally to provide a seamless experience to customers. Investing in the right technology and tools can help you to give a better experience to your customers. It will help you track marketing actions with the data analytics and target the right target audience with data analytics to provide a positive ROI.
Investing in the technologies like Data Analytics, Marketing Automation, AI ad Content marketing will help you nurture your audience throughout their customer journey. Based upon the buyer’s stage, the personalized real-time content to amplify the customer experience. When technology is at work, marketers can relax and rely on the tools to take care of the ROI.
3. People first Policy
It is essential to create a work environment where people feel valued. A work culture that puts its employees above the numbers and targets is usually good at hitting the targets. In addition, such a positive environment helps its team to feel connected and eliminate stress and anxiety at the workplace.
Regular fun and team bonding activities will create a strong sense of belonging within the team. Periodically getting in touch with your teammates and asking them about their challenges and life will make them feel special. When you are with your family and friends, mental health issues disappear.
4. Provide Training and Mentorship
It’s not easy to upskill and learn about new ways of working overnight. However, arranging proper training sessions to adopt new technologies and tools will help the marketers know fast.
Training makes learning easy and fast. Arranging expert sessions to cope with the changing dynamics of marketings can help marketers feel empowered and aware. This external help and knowledge will allow them to work efficiently instead of stressing out.
5. Mental Health Counseling
To support your team with mental health issues, it’s essential to start a conversation in the office. The conversations around mental health and fatigue will encourage people to open up.
Guidance and sessions by counselors to discuss their challenges and problems will be a big move. It will create an environment where discussing mental health issues are regular.
Bottom Line
The alarming Mental issues at the workplace are lethal for employees and organizations, and the global economy. Depression and anxiety are causing a loss of US$ 1 trillion per year in the global economy due to a decline in productivity.
It’s encouraging to see organizations coming forward to help their employees to overcome mental health issues. In addition, policies are being drafted to support mental health and make it an essential aspect.