Y&R Asia boss: we need to blend our passions with work to address work-life balance issue
The regional president of Y&R, Matthew Godfrey, said today that people working media and marketing need to bring their passions into work to help address the work-life balance issue in Asia.
Godfrey, who is a car marketing enthusiast and writes his own blog, called on the industry to start “blending your passions” with work.
“The things that bring you joy – you need to bring them into work,” Godfrey told delegates at the Mumbrella360 conference in Sydney today.
He added that agency leaders need to encourage healthier lifestyles among their staff.
Godfrey was on a panel that included Wayne Arnold, global CEO of digital agency Lowe Profero, Cheuk Chiang, APAC CEO of OMG, John Zeigler, APAC chairman and CEO of DDB, and Dan Neary, Asia vice president of Facebook.
His comments came in response to a question about how the industry should respond to the deaths of two young people in Asia over the last 12 months – one in Indonesia who worked for Y&R, one in China who worked at Ogilvy. Both allegedly died after excessive working hours.
In answer to a question about the difference in work ethic between Australia and Asia, Zeigler said: “Asians are working double the rate of Australians.”
“Asia presents a huge opportunity for people who are prepared to work hard,” he said.
Zeigler added that there was no work-life balance in any industry in Asia, and the media and marketing industries are not unusual in working hard.
loving mumbrella’s version of ‘asia’
bald white men!
ReplyHi Zombie,
I agree that agencies in Asia being run by foreigners is an issue worth highlighting, which we covered a while back.
https://www.mumbrella.asia/2013/04/why-are-asias-agencies-still-run-by-foreigners/
Cheers,
ReplyRobin – Mumbrella
I am appalled by the pat answers by the agency bosses.
ReplyDoes blending passion with work suddenly make 3 hrs sleep bearable?
Do Asians asked to be worked harder than their Australian counterparts?
Turning the onus to staff for not having a healthier life is repulsive!
What good is a gym membership if internal reviews are scheduled at 9pm and weekends are reserved for ramping up on award scams?
Agency heads must learn to manage their human resources better.
and enforce service level agreements.
Don’t over promise clients when the agency isn’t staffed to deliver.
Don’t pitch if there isn’t available bodies.
Don’t demand fully finished scamps when there isn’t a concensus between the heads of planning,creative and CEO.
Don’t make creative changes not requested by clients, or unbudgeted by agency producers.
Losing sleep and losing hair are just a slippery slope to losing lives.
And two lives are two too many.
I am quite certain the deaths are caused by deep vein thrombosis(DVT) that first became well-known in flight passengers that were dehydrated and immobile for long hours. Dehydration can lead to a thick blood flow, and with the lack of body movement for long hours, can cause fatal blood clots.
Many corporate buildings have gyms in them to encourage a healthier lifestyle. I think companies need to encourage their employee to move about more often and drink more clear water.
How can plane travel increase the risk of heart attack?
http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/cardiovascular/heart/plane-travel-heart-attack1.htm
http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Getting-Deep-Vein-Thrombosis-(DVT)
Replyhttp://www.hematology.org/Patients/Clots/Travel.aspx
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