For many women who work in PR and comms, the lines between work and life are increasingly blurred. Professional support network for women in marketing, advertising and communications industries Bloom recently conducted The Juggle - a study surveying over 700 women working in advertising, marketing and communications. It is the industry’s biggest consultation into women’s work-life balance through an intersectional lens.

Key findings

The overwhelming majority (93%) of women said a lack of work-life balance has negatively impacted their mental health in some way. The intersectional results were also staggering. For example, two-fifths of women of colour (41%) don’t feel their work allows for a healthy integration of personal and professional life, compared to a third (31%) of white women. Moreover, two-thirds of women with a disability (66%) or mental health condition (65%) find it challenging to disconnect from work, compared to half of those without a condition or disability.

The Juggle found that of the women interviewed working at PR agencies, only 50% of them rate their current work-life balance as good or excellent.

It’s clear many women shoulder a disproportionate burden, especially those facing intersectional challenges.

Change starts here

Openness and genuine willingness to learn and understand are some of the main things women from underrepresented groups want from their employers. Change starts at the top and this begins with listening - which can happen in a multitude of ways depending on what is comfortable for employees, such as staff forums or anonymous surveys to uncover how people really feel.

The findings serve to help employers make changes. But it’s crucial to ensure they gain input from those with lived experiences of what they’re aiming to support. It can't be left to marginalised groups to carry the burden. Everyone needs to make an effort to implement change.

This change won’t happen overnight - but making the progress to shift mindsets and be more open about the challenges, as well as proactively discussing solutions is a step in the right direction towards a more equitable and inclusive workplace, and work-life balance.

Further information

You can read Bloom’s latest research, The Juggle here.

Article written by Elizabeth Anyaegbuna, president of Bloom UK