Company Culture and Mental Health at Digital Agencies

Posted October 8, 2019

It’s #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, and here at FLOCK, we’re looking at the impact that work-life balance and company culture can have on mental health.

This topic is being discussed now more than ever, but many are also feeling the pressure to be available 24/7. As company culture embraces more millennial ways of working, there has been a shift towards flexible working and an increase in tools that enable this. Although this is a problem facing employees in many different industries, the pressure is even greater at digital agencies. It has become a trend to be a #workaholic and brag about how little free time you have. The already common culture of working long hours and a high-pressure environment has been made worse by the 24 hour news cycle and need for an active online presence.

Is it possible to unplug from work?

Flexible working has become more common at agencies, and many employees now feel they have to always be available. Whilst technology like Slack is a really useful way for teams to communicate, it also has drawbacks. It is important that employees set boundaries – when will they work and respond to messages needs to be scheduled. This problem is made worse when company culture doesn’t encourage face to face interaction. Limited team relationships often mean that it is more difficult to effectively communicate, and makes it hard to be productive.

Should companies do something for their employees?

In addition to employees being accountable for their own workload, it is important that managers make sure that their employees know that this is encouraged. Another step that an employer can take to help improve mental health within their team is to improve company culture.

Building a positive company culture within your team helps you understand what drives and motivates your team. Once you understand this, you can create an environment which supports everyone effectively. If you create a positive company culture, you will minimise workplace stress as a result.

Ways in which you can help build a positive company culture include; turning off slack notifications when you’re not working, giving your employees a voice to challenge negative behaviour, and even hiring a workplace therapist.

Mental Health problems at work cost the UK economy £34.9bn last year according to the Centre for Mental Health. Why don’t you take some time this week to reflect on what could your company do to improve the impact that your company culture has on your employees’ mental health?