Creative director calls on industry to respond to the death of Mita Diran with common policy on work-life balance
One of the region’s top creative directors has called on the leaders of the big agency groups to respond to the death of Y&R Indonesia creative Mita Diran by agreeing on a common industry policy on work-life balance to ensure the tragedy does not reoccur.
The young copywriter allegedly died from a combination of overwork and the excessive consumption of energy drinks earlier week.
Before her death, she tweeted that she had been working continually for 30 hours.
Steve Elrick, the former Asia Pacific executive creative director of BBH, wrote in a post on Mumbrella’s Facebook page: “I would have thought some kind of industry response to this horrible news would be in order?”
“Would it be too much to ask for at least the agency heads of the main networks in Asia to get together and agree to have some form of policy ensuring that these work practices are seen to be in violation of their own corporate/human resource guidelines – as I am sure they MUST be, already,” he said.
“Coming out and publicly stating it from the top would give the most junior and powerless employees at least a base from which to air their worries/grievances and hold the big companies to account if they continue to preach one thing, and practice another,” Elrick added.
“Come on regional heads of WPP and Publicis Omnicom agencies, together you could set the standard for 80 per cent of the shops in Asia – what on earth could be stopping you?”
WPP-owned ad agency Y&R has offered its condolences to the family of Mita Diran on Y&R Indonesia’s Facebook page, but has yet to respond to Mumbrella’s questions on how Diran’s passing reflected the company’s HR policy for work-life balance. The agency has said that it was too soon to comment, and that the company was still in shock over the news.
A number of posters in social media have suggested that Diran’s employer should be held accountable for her death. One poster wrote on Facebook: “Y&R should be prosecuted. Along with her managers for not taking care of her.”
One of the region’s top planners has also suggested that clients should be part of an industry review on work-life balance.
Rob Campbell, Asia strategy director at ad agency Wieden + Kennedy, said on Mumbrella’s Facebook page: “It would also be interesting to get clients to do this given there are situations where they knowingly place unrealistic expectations and demands on their agency partners.”
“Of course situations happen, but so do bad attitudes and planning. So while the agency heads should stand up for their people in uncalled for, extreme situations, it should be something that the broad industry accepts and tries to do something about,” he said.
Mita Diran’s death comes just six months after the passing of Chinese PR executive, Li Yuan, from Ogilvy who suffered from a heart attack, believed to be related to the stresses of overwork.
The week after Li Yuan’s death, a former head of the Australian office of Korean agency Cheil Worldwide spoke out against the “oppressive” work culture that exists in Korea. “Junior staff are unable to go home until their senior does (regardless of finishing the tasks for the day) or they are seen as uncommitted to their job,” he said.
Read an opinion piece written by Steve Elrick on how the industry should respond to the death of Mita Diran here.
Well said Steve. Come CEO’s and clients, please get togther and stop this insanityb
ReplyWell said, Mr. Elrick. I wonder if Y&R Indonesia will ever say what account Ms Diran was working on so hard that she apparently could not even sleep.
ReplyAnd this is why Steve is sorely missed as ECD at BBH. it’s not just about how early you come in or how late you leave (wink wink).
ReplyRest in Peace Mita
ReplyMy condolence to Mita’s family, and also i hope her ECD dad would do something to change how agency works in indonesia.
I can’t say much about indonesia, but I can shed some lights on how most agency works in another asian country similar to Indonesia.
In Malaysia, there’s nothing we can do to change the industry, it won’t help if agency in Asia is charging minimum to clients and producing the same amount of work because of the highly competitive market.
Malaysia, we work on campaign ideas for maybe a budget of MYR100,000 (Media might already took up 80% of the budget), agency will only make MYR20,000 profit for the whole project, thats (6101.28USD).
So, with a profit so little and despite the minimum wages (copywriters are paid around MYR2200 for juniors), agency will need to make more. To make more, we produce more. we produce more but we can’t hire more because it will eat into our profit, so, we get people to work more.
Something no one can change, the industry is driven by money in Asia. Passionate youth are judged by how well they perform at work and how hardworking they are at work. To employers in some part of Asia, creatives are your production hub which will help you achieve your KPI and giving client’s the fastest ROI. How unfortunate.
ReplyToo little, too late, and you’re making yourself ludicrous by playing the voice of reason after the fact. People know that this is neither first nor the last occurrence.
Work-life balance is common sense that has been made company policy in other industries for a long time. How old is advertising?
ReplyProsecuting the management would help.
Reply#JusticeForMita
Thank you and well said Steve, I’m Mita’s Dad on the 5th day after my/our beloved daughter’s demise. It took me a while to actually react or respond to all the comments and opinions that are storming in via the internet and other mediums. Its every Dad’s dream to have his child to follow his footsteps, and Mita has made me/us all proud by receiving her first three creative award trophies couple of weeks prior to this incident. She was talented and so passionate with her work.
@TL, yes in fact I was in the mids of preparing a case to be presented to the management of the agency I am currently with, as to “How working long hours would affect the quality of health and the quality of creative output of the creative staff”. With this I will be proposing a ‘new’ working habits to be enforced. Unfortunately I did not finished it in time to share it with my daughter. I took this initiative based on my observations and concerns over what the industry has become today, the agency is now a vendor and not as a partner to our clients. I have seen a lot of changes in the industry over these years, there are good ones and bad ones but most of all “health comes first”.
Reply@Marc, yes I would seek justice but prosecuting one agency would not do, as it is the general common practice (long hours) in most agencies. So do we have to prosecute every agency in the country… how about that. My daughter could have been in any other agency and it will still happen the same and to anyone else.
ReplyZys – are you the father or step father? I ask because the Hong Kong SCMP today published a story on Mita with quotes from step father that basically excused the agency and discounted the overwork claim. To be honest, it read a lot like crisis management, although would hate to think Y&R were involved in preparing the quotes.
Reply@Reader – Step father or biological father, in this case we both lost a daughter who we both love so dearly. We never discounted the fact of overwork, and we certainly would want to find out the truth and we definitely will. What we know for certain is that Mita was a very hard working person that would put in the extra hours at her own free will, just to get work done to the best of her ability. The same extra efforts was shown during her college days working long hours sometimes days just to finish up her assignments. Occasionally she brings home work as well.
We don’t need anyone to tell us how we feel and what to say about this tragic end to our daughter. All we want is remember her as a sweet young talented, dedicated and passionate in everything she does. Let this be a lesson learned for the industry and to redesign its common work practices, for example working long hours is one of the normal and expected practice throughout the industry.
If the truth is that she was actually putting the extra effort pushing it at her own initiative and passion for her work, who would be put to blame? Please don’t let Mita’s demise be in vein by concluding it with something destructive, let it be a positive eye opener for all concern.
ReplyThe advertising industry is no different to others. It’s up to companies and individual management to set expectations by their behavior and not just their words. There are plenty of companies/industries that have pieces of paper that say one thing when they practice another (double standards).
Having said that individuals should tell companies where to stick their jobs if they are being regularly overworked. Money and career status mean less and less to the rest of us as years go by.
ReplyAh yes Steve, so it’s been some months now, what have YOU DONE ABOUT IT yourself Steve?
It’s a hackneyed and much plagiarized comment; “Advertising is a people business. So is cannibalism”.
And the industry thrives on bullshitting consumers about a wonderful life they can lead with bank and wank loans and products etc but has never really given a shit about people.
And a lot of attention IS paid to who leaves late and comes early to do Fanny Adams worth of work. Shane Weaver, late of Ogilvy, used to say; “Where’s the frigging passion?” Well he’s dead now may have lived a smidgen longer if he didn’t follow his own advice.
Oh well, same time next year folks.
ReplyFour years later and still no answer or reply eh? Nobody really gives a fat fiddler’s fuck in advertising. It’s just hot air and that’s it.
ReplyHave your say