R U OK Day: We Need To Talk About Wellbeing In Creative Agencies

We need to ‘walk the talk’ on wellbeing, it’s time to grow up and take better care of ourselves, and there’s no better time to recognise this need for change than on today’s R U OK Day.

The long-lunching days of yesteryear are long gone, swept aside by back-to-back meetings, inhaled 3 PM sangers and weekend ‘pitch bitch’ pizza.

Add squeezing, time-based fees until they squeak, and our game can feel less like a creative partnership and more like speed chess.

In an ad-world where ‘al desko’ dominates al fresco, something has to change.

RYVL Channelzero is embracing a fresh start by focusing on giving people more room to live and breathe inside and outside of work – and they want that to be much more than lip service with a series of initiatives to change what they do for the better.

Speaking about the importance of the new ethos RYVL Channelzero CEO Mikey Taylor said: “We have decided to not only focus on ourselves but promote wellbeing further afield.

“It’s becoming increasingly important to look after our mental wellbeing, now that we’ve put on our oxygen mask we’re looking to help others and that’s why we are proud to announce our new partnership with Raise Foundation.”

Raise Foundation was set up to impact the wellbeing of young people at risk of disengagement in Australia, through best practice mentoring programs.

Their work is hugely important as underscored by these very sobering statistics:

1 in 3 are without adequate work (i.e. either unemployed or under-employed)
Young people face unemployment rates at over twice that of the general population
1 in 10 are completely disengaged from education, employment and training
1 in 4 have a mental health condition
One quarter of young Australians are unhappy with their lives
Suicide is the highest reason for death among Australia’s young people

Raise Foundation’s Emmeline Steven added: “We feel very fortunate to be partnering with Channelzero, as a not for profit organisation we are truly grateful to have access to their high level of expertise.

“It is clear that we share many core values, such as prizing the importance of positive mental health for our employees and understanding the critical role of mentoring in society as a whole.

“Over the next few years, we hope to be able to offer our best practice mentoring programs in every Australian public secondary school.

“It’s a huge challenge but with Channelzero mentoring us on our creative strategy, we are sure to succeed!”

Channelzero will be working with Raise pro-bono to shine a light on their wider vision in the most creative and engaging ways they can think of.

In addition, their personal actions have included; set email scheduling, freeing us from any late messages sent between 6 PM to 8 AM.

A small but significant change in terms of digital detox and work-consciousness overload.

They are embracing the insights from Daniel Pink’s ‘When’ to work without interruption, so specific times of the day are ‘golden,’ saved for our most creative moments, or conversely times when our brains are set to focus on organising resources.

Finally, they are moving from time-based fees, charging by creative outputs.

This project will positively impact our output, both personally and professionally.

Their growing awareness of mental health is crucial to our achievements and happiness in this increasingly fast-paced world.

So, the only thing left to ask is, R U Ok?

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creative agencies r u ok day ryvl channel zero