Rethinking Work: Industry leaders weigh in on workplace flexibility in the creative industry

The conversation surrounding workplace flexibility remains an important topic in Adland, especially in light of WPP’s recent mandate requiring staff to return to the office four days a week. Campaign Brief reached out to prominent voices in the industry to gather insights on how some of Australia’s leading independent creative agencies are navigating workplace flexibility.

 

Margie Reid, CEO, Thinkerbell, emphasises the importance of connection and creativity in physical spaces: “Since Day 1, we’ve created office environments that deliberately create FOMO – you don’t have to come into the office today, but if you don’t you just might be missing out. Our approach has always been that we are more creative when we are more connected in the physical sense, and are able to co-create together more than we could apart.

Reid notes that 85% in-office presence is expected, translating to an average of about 4.25 days a week, allowing for some flexibility as necessary: “This is deliberate, and we hope it signals to our people that we expect them in ‘most days’ with some flexibility where and when needed. And there are only two meetings a week where physical attendance is mandatory – Measured Monday which is a serious all-staff meeting from 9-9:30 every Monday, in every office. And Magic Hour, which is far less serious, but equally as important and starts at 4pm every Friday, in every office.

“We don’t count heads and we don’t clock watch. Being in the office doesn’t have to be rigid – you can still have the flexibility to do the work you need to do, whilst you manage your life around it.

“We have created various areas in the office to cater for different styles of working. We’ve expanded our South office by double since covid days, and are about to significantly open up more physical space in our North office too. We value our connectivity, and we create spaces that encourage the best of us coming together.”

Charlotte Adorjan, Executive Creative Director, TABOO highlights that flexibility is about accommodating individual needs and circumstances: “We cherish our people and listen to them – they’re not lines on a spreadsheet to us. We know that everyone needs to work in their own way to get the best results. We set the work bar high, and know you only get the best from people when they’re able to work in a way that’s best for them.

“Currently we have set flexible days (Wednesday and Friday are work from home days with minimal or no meetings) but we’re also flexible with that flexibility. We also have a ‘work from anywhere’ policy if people need to travel. And when we’re negotiating contracts we give the option of working a 4 day week if it would suit them better. We have quite a few staff on 4 day weeks and it works well.”

“Indies are certainly able to have a more personal approach. By knowing all of our people well, we get to know who needs what to hit their potential. We know who’s neurospicy so may need to work from home to decompress the day after a big in-person meeting. Who has a partner returning to work after mat leave so needs less office days to support the new ‘side hustle’ back home. Who’s caring for kids with disabilities, or living with chronic illness. Who absolutely thrives in the office environment and loves to work amongst the bustle and themed playlists. And who absolutely doesn’t. We want the nuances that each of them bring to show up in their work, and flexibility allows those nuances to shine.”

Adorjan shares her take on how a new generation is redefining hard work, challenging ingrained norms, and fostering a healthier approach to creativity and productivity: “What I love about the new generation coming up through the ranks is their fresh attitude to work. Presenteeism and burnout aren’t a badge of honour like they once were in our industry. We individually work hard to do what needs to be done to deliver great work for our clients. Sitting at the desk doesn’t equal that. It’s been a learning curve for me to embrace some of this though. Watching our crew come and go was confronting at first. I needed to shake some of my own ingrained bias about what hard work looks like. I never left the office before 7pm throughout my career. Ever. In fact there were times when 7pm felt like leaving ‘early’. Now, I look around the TABOO office and see people heading off, to lives, to hobbies, all the things that will directly feed back into the brilliant work I’m seeing from them everyday. We can only tap into what the world is doing if we’re actually in it, in body as well as spirit.

“As I write this from the office, and people start to head off, my mind wanders too; the sun is shining, there are two kids at home who desperately want to see me (and a husband desperate for some respite from them). I think: ‘I can sit on the train home and think about those headlines or let my mind drift over that pitch proposition while I walk back through the park. Or I can stay and get a bit of thinking done now it’s a bit quieter.’ And that’s the beauty of flexibility; knowing I can crack things in my own, sometimes freaky way (feet tucked up under me on the chair like a perching crow, if you must know – don’t judge). I love that I’m learning a fresher way of approaching work from the TABOO crew. And my ideas, mental health and family, are very grateful to them for that.”

Jess Wheeler, Creative Director/Partner, SICKDOGWOLFMAN suggests that understanding the reasons behind employees not wanting to come into the office can lead to a better solution: “I can’t speak for the specific situation surrounding WPP and all the global offices they have to manage, but if 18,000 people are signing a petition saying they don’t want to come in to your offices (and this is STILL only 4 days, not even FT) – you probably need to ask some questions, don’t you?

“Why don’t people feel comfortable here? Why don’t they feel productive? If we genuinely feel both parties are better suited to working in-office, how do we foster an environment that actually reflects that?

“Like many, we’ve had flexible working since the COVID era. With ‘flexible’ being the key word. There’s been no WFH vs. In Office debate. Flexible means flexible. We try to have everyone in on Monday to set up the week, but after that, people do what works best. Some might be in 3/2 or 4/1 or come in every day, some weeks maybe there’s more WFH going on, it really depends on the mix of concept/production/meetings/pitches. It’s worked quite well. We have very low staff turnover, 100% retention in 2024.

“One can assume the mandate is financially driven and decision makers are questioning productivity of staff, but is forcing people to work in an environment they don’t enjoy the answer to that? Or is it creating clearer expectations for people to be accountable to and then giving them the space, trust, and flexibility to achieve them?

“One of the great learnings of the past few years is that there is no ‘one way’ of working that suits all people, all the time. Ignoring the fact doesn’t change it.

“The industry is shrinking. Talent is leaving. Indies are having a moment. There’s enough writing on the wall to say that the business is undergoing significant change. ‘Flexibility’ is becoming an important conversation topic in more ways than just ‘how many days in the office’. In that sense, trying to be bigger and bigger and bigger and more rigid and mandated in your way of working would appear to be an attempt to fight change, rather than embrace it. But maybe that’s still an attractive way of working for some.

“At the end of the day, the creative industry needs to attract and retain the best talent it can – and right now, it isn’t.”

Sarah Deery, General Manager, HERO Brisbane, reiterates the value of flexibility in fostering creativity: “At HERO, we take a flexible approach to work because creativity and collaboration doesn’t happen on a set schedule or in one fixed location. We currently work a 3 day in office week with the remaining 2 days open for the team to work remotely. It’s about giving people the autonomy to balance life and work without stress while delivering their best.

“Flexibility plays a crucial role in attracting and retaining the best talent that complements both our business and our clients’ needs. The nature of our industry doesn’t always adhere to typical business hours, and at times requires flexibility from our staff. In return, it’s only fair that we offer our team that same level of flexibility. It fosters a creative and productive environment allowing our team to thrive both personally and professionally, while also supporting their wellbeing – which usually leads to greater outcomes for our clients.

Deery acknowledged the potential advantages of return to work mandates but urged caution: “As we’re seeing across many industries, mandates carry a risk of pushing people away—especially those who’ve adapted to flexible work and value it. In Brisbane’s creative industry, flexibility is a major drawcard for talent. If companies enforce rigid office returns, they may find it challenging to retain talent and, in the end, lose out to organisations that offer greater autonomy. HERO will be continuing to foster flexibility because we believe in a more progressive and inclusive way of working.”

For Adorjan the mandates send a potentially harmful message: “It says: ‘we don’t value anyone who is disabled, who are carers, who are mothers, single parents, who have stuff going on in their lives that make being present in an office everyday more challenging; women struggling with perimenopause symptoms, going through IVF…’ the list goes on. It’s hard enough to retain these valuable intersections of society – and all the brilliant, nuanced ideas and insights they bring to the work – the pandemic helped many come back thanks to flexible working, if we go back to how things were before then precious progress (and ideas) will be lost.

“Media and marketing has a huge impact on the views and opinions of society. If we don’t flex around the individual needs of staff, we will only retain a homogeneous few, the ones either privileged enough to be able to work in the office every day, no matter what life or genetics throws at them, or those perpetuating an old fashioned way of working, with 2 parent, heteronormative families, Dad at work, Mum home with the kids, relying on the unpaid childcare of younger grandparents. Imagine what returning to that Mad Men era way of working will do to the ideas flooding our screens and streets? Whose gaze on the world will be represented? What the hell will happen to any progress in feminism? To inclusion? It’s pretty grim to think about.”

As Jamie Scott, Managing Director, Showpony mentioned in his piece published on CB last week flexibility should go two ways: “Showpony has nearly a third of our staff who work part time, some that are half days Tuesday and Thursdays and others that are school hours. We even have people working from remote locations, including Gibraltar. But most importantly, we’re flexible on notice. When someone says “I’m going to be late today”, or “I have to leave early today”  it’s an opportunity for us to genuinely walk the talk on flexibility.

“Flexibility is vital to interpersonal relationships, particularly in the workplace. Flexibility demonstrates trust, partnership and can add to creativity by removing barriers and constraints.

“What flexibility is not, is an argument for work from home.

“How is a rigid requirement to work from home Mondays and Wednesdays flexible? Flexibility is making it a choice. An option. At Showpony we have a different work from home day for each office but it’s up to the individual. Some come in, some stay home.

“When governments mandated work from home we all had to be flexible with our new ways of working. If there is evidence that work from home leads to diminished productivity (as WPP’s Mark Read suggests), shouldn’t we also be flexible enough to return to the office more often?”

L-R: Margie Reid, CEO, Thinkerbell; Charlotte Adorjan, Executive Creative Director, TABOO; Jess Wheeler, Creative Director/Partner, SICKDOGWOLFMAN; Sarah Deery, General Manager, HERO Brisbane; Jamie Scott, Managing Director, Showpony

 

What’s your take on workplace flexibility? Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below — and please remember to include your full name and email address.