ith many agencies nearly four weeks into working remotely due to lockdowns across the country, agency employees say they are starting to feel burnout due to agencies’ current “always on” mentality.
April 09, 2020

Mandatory, endless work from home has changed a lot about how we live and work. But it might be making the problem of burnout worse for people working at agencies. Read more below:

  • Agency burnout was a problem before the coronavirus changed how people balance their lives with their work. But with more pressure from clients and nowhere to hide, that familiar problem is rearing its ugly head again.
  • A month’s TV ad inventory used to be mostly sold before that month had even started. But advertiser uncertainty is so widespread that close to half of April’s ad inventory remains available.
  • At the start of the coronavirus fallout, a healthy camp of people predicted that the fallout — and rebound — from the disease’s spread would be swift. These days, people are steeling themselves for something that will take longer to resolve.
  • The uncertainty swirling through the global economy is forcing marketers to give up on the concept of long-term planning, and putting CMOs more at the mercy of their CEO and CFO colleagues.
  • Headlines about layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts have dominated media over the past few weeks. But many media companies are still hiring, albeit in ways different than they’re used to.
Other things to know about
  • Introducing The New Normal: a weekly interactive show where a top Digiday editor discusses how a media and marketing industry leader is adapting to a changed reality. Register to join us this Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET as Digiday editor-in-chief Brian Morrissey hosts Kate Lewis, chief content officer at Hearst Magazines.
  • Brands and publishers, tell us: During the current crisis, are ads for phony treatments and products a potential brand safety concern? What steps should companies be taking to minimize the risk? Sponsored by GeoEdge.
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ith many agencies nearly four weeks into working remotely due to lockdowns across the country, agency employees say they are starting to feel burnout due to agencies’ current “always on” mentality.
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