Being over-worked isn’t anyone’s fault but your own
In this guest post, Prentice Porter argues that if you are being asked to work unreasonable hours, it is your responsibility to say no.
I write this knowing it won’t be a popular sentiment, but I couldn’t think of a better way to phrase it. Within six months, two young creatives quite literally worked themselves into an early grave.
After the death of Mita Diran last week it seems the industry is now beginning to realise that we have a problem. Not only are people being exploited well beyond their contractual hours, but their health is suffering to such an extent that many people are falling very ill indeed.
Thus far, the industry response to the tragedy has been dismal. The death of this poor girl will no doubt fair the same as the last incident (Li Yuan) a few months ago who died in similar circumstances – and will be forgotten in a matter of weeks while everyone rushes to complete whatever deadlines preoccupy them. Corporations remain quiet, and employees – while outraged – do nothing.
When unfortunate events like these take place, there’s a tendency for a collective abnegation of personal responsibility, and to instead point fingers at almost every other possible factor. “Failure of account management” one article read, “poor leadership”, “unreasonable clients”. Nobody would deny that these are problems, but the underlying reason people are being over-worked is because you (the workers) just won’t say “no”.
I’ve seen it time and time again – a few prominent leaders implore other industry leaders to take measures in introducing policy to ensure tragedies like the two we’ve witnessed don’t reoccur, only for them to fall on deaf ears as deadlines continue to roll in and clients remain as unsympathetic as ever.
The inherent contradiction and stupidy within most agency management is their eagerness to enforce start times – often referring to contractual agreements – all the while completely ignoring contractually agreed finishing times. If anyone has forgotten, the contract you signed mandates an eight-hour working day. Not 12, or 16 as some would have you believe.
Look at any movement in history: the abolishment of slavery, the enlightenment, gender equality, the American Revolution, the labour movement, rights for homosexuals, anti racial discrimination – and you’ll see that not in a single instance were rights ever given without a fight. Usually it’s a long and arduous battle, and it only begins with those who are oppressed. And believe me, you are oppressed.
If you don’t want to hear it, tough, it’s a fact. You only get the rights you fight for, and relying on management or industry leaders to hand them to you is a sign of servility and complacency – not to mention an exercise in futility. Until you’re willing to stand up for change, don’t expect any.
I worry that many people in our industry will continue to suffer unnecessarily until there’s a fundamental change in attitude, and with people falling ill at the rates they are, I think the time is now. You don’t just owe it to yourself, you owe it to those who don’t quite have the courage to stand up for what has to happen, and also to the newcomers who are vulnerable to the harsh world they’re entering.
So I urge this industry – not CEOs, not GMs, not CDs, but the copywriters, art directors, designers, programmers, traffic managers and everyone else who spends their nights at their office desk rushing an impossible deadline that’s been imposed on them; to power down, go home, and let your immediate supervisor explain to the client why they haven’t managed their deadline properly. If everyone adopted this approach, a chain reaction would (and will) occur, and we’d be working in a very different industry.
An active and free labour movement is one of the most crucial elements in the maintenance of democracy and economic development. Get yourselves organized and stop being complacent. Isn’t it time?
How much of your health are you willing to sacrifice? How many birthdays and anniversaries are you prepared to miss? How many nights are you willing to spend slumped over your desk for a deadline you had no say in deciding? Grow up and speak out. Make it a group effort. Set up a trade union. I promise you you’ll not lay on your death bed in your last hours wishing you spent more time in the office. Stop working yourself to death. It’s such a horrible waste of life, and you only have yourself to blame.
I’m going home because it’s almost 7.30pm. You bloody well should too. It’s your right.
Prentice Mathew Porter is a senior art director at Digital Arts Network Singapore
While I love a good worker’s uprising as much as the next comrade, I have to disagree. An agency’s yes culture begins and ends with its management. Saying no and leaving it to your immediate supervisor to explain mismanaged deadlines doesn’t work in a yes culture. They’ll just find another young hungry talent who is more keen on self advancement and hasn’t bought into the naive belief of some spontaneous worker’s rebellion. And if that fails, there are always freelancers.
The only lasting way to strike a work/life balance in our industry is for agency principals to say no on behalf of the entire organisation. And then making sure their people also know that it’s okay to say no to unreasonable requests.
Of course there are times when you have to say yes. It’s the nature of our business. The important thing is to distinguish yes moments from no moments. And again, that is often something the principals must decide on behalf of the business. So if you’ve lost faith in your management’s ability to tell the difference, it’s time to look for a new employer. Because while the workers may not always have the right to say no, they always have the right to decide whether they stay or leave. And in a market like Singapore where finding talent is a constant headache for recruiters, good people will always be in demand.
ReplyWhen you’re young and trying to make an impression you work hard to get ahead.
ReplyWhen your older you have attitudes like this.
When you have real drive you do your own thing….
But you know it’s not just advertising right? It affects many industries, including media, television/film, publishing, finance, IT, web development and other creative design industries. All except for the blue collared worker who literally clocks in and out, there needs to be strict labour laws put in place in Asia for overtime. The time for MNCs and companies taking advantage of Asia’s lax labour laws is over because the price of such lifestyles is literally killing people or making them ill and this adds up to long term healthcare costs for businesses and the government. Add to that, there are no unions or collective groups to help such employees to make their concerns heard. This makes individuals afraid to take a stand because it affects their rice bowl should their names be blacklisted as a ‘troublemaker’ seeking to rock the boat or upset the status quo. Question now is, how many more such victims need to die in order for us to realise that something radical needs to change about the disorganised way we work from last minute frazzled decision making, unrealistic and tight deadlines, unthought out project briefs, rubbish hours and bad pay.
Replynot sure if this writer has worked in Asia much, but there is a strong culture against speaking up to authorities or as in this case, declining your employers’ requests. there is a fear of being excluded esp. amongst the young and new, and a strong desire to be a ‘team player’ to ensure longevity. so, No it is actually the employers’ and managers’ responsibility as it is the industry expectation to work back
ReplyBeing overworked is a symptom of an unhealthy working habit. Profit-driven industries love their working ants and the less rights the staff have the better it is for employers. The advertising and other service/entertainment industries are notorious for fostering such an environment.
This situation is likely worse in Asia, where the labour movement is weak compared to their counterparts in the West. Furthermore, the dominant working ethics of certain cultures mean that you literally work to death in order to make a better life either for yourself, your family or for your descendants.
Singapore is an industrious nation, and it will take both courage and wisdom of everyone involved to make that change. A strong and robust labour union is needed. So do conscientious and wise employers.
Sadly, this won’t ever happen until we move away to a better economic system than pure capitalism.
ReplyInteresting how young people can comfortably voice their attributed views publicly via Twitter, Facebook, etc but are perceived as having difficulty expressing their same opinions to their managers due to “culture”.
Reply…Because a tweet and an FB status update is meaningless, but an official corporate email gets you fired and blacklisted throughout the Industry.
Reply“not sure if this writer has worked in Asia much” <– Read the article footer, says he works in Singapore as a Digital Art Director.
"Saying no and leaving it to your immediate supervisor to explain mismanaged deadlines doesn’t work in a yes culture." <– what a load of crap
If a project manager comes to you at 5:50pm and says "oh the client just emailed me, he wants this done by 9am". You need to turn around and say no.
It's not the creative job to deliver on a short notice. The project manager needs to say to their client "oh I'm sorry, you can't come to us at such short notice and expect this to be delivered by tomorrow morning"
That's the entire problem with Asia in general, not a single person can say no. And it starts from the ground up, not the top down. Learn to say no. Learn to ask for proper requirements instead of accepting single lined breifs of rubbish.
ReplyPrentice, are you still working at TBWA?
ReplyHave your say