Finding the Even in Events
28th February 2018
When was the last time you switched off for a day?
In the events industry, we all know the hours are long, your social life will suffer and it isn’t all red carpets and showbiz. How do you keep your work life from merging into your personal life? It seems every year, it’s harder and harder to answer this question. Even if we try to keep strict hours, we still feel the need to respond to emails. So, when you are at home, how much are you really there?
Do you often find it hard to balance your personal life and your work life? It’s not just you. In 2017, an event coordinator was rated the 5th most stressful job. A recent study looked into the weekly working hours of event planners’, almost half worked between 40 – 50 hours. This is more than a normal 9AM – 5PM job. So, which category do you fit into?
If you are looking for a better balance, here are some tips to try:
Energise
According to The Mental Health Foundation, when working long hours, 27% of employees feel depressed, 34% feel anxious and 58% feel irritable. It is important to find time to grab some fresh air and embrace the outdoors, such as going for a walk during lunch. Evidence from the NHS shows that being active can improve your mental wellbeing and brings about the ability to rise to a challenge and get the creative juices flowing. Find a hobby that isn’t a burden and stick to it. Hobbies are a great way of taking a break from your busy life whilst still having a sense of purpose.
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Dealing With Clients
We can all tell a story about a ‘client from hell’ with their high expectations, difficult demands and tight budgets. Schedules can change quickly and issues can arise but having set guidelines for balancing your life can help to prioritise and prepare for any curveballs. Create strict working hours to ensure work doesn’t take over your personal life. This could be done by creating a contract clause with your clients specifying your working hours; this will relieve the pressure of feeling the need to reply outside these hours.
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Prioritising
More than 40% of employees are overlooking other aspects of their life because of work. Be realistic with the tasks you need to get done, not everything needs to be finished each day. It is important to manage your workload before burning out. We all know the hours can fly by when the pressure is on, so ensure you keep to your checklist and take lunch away from your desk! It’s not so easy to put yourself first, particularly when facing the fifth late night on the lead up to an event. So take time for yourself and your family, prioritise them during your evenings.
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Switch Off
It seems work has drifted from a specific place to any space, so turn off your electronics for 1 day a week. We know it is tempting to look at your phone when those work emails pop up but respect your weekends, spend time with your family and ensure your friends are as updated as your apps. Did you know you can set your incoming emails to not deliver to your account between specific times? Check this out in your email settings. It has been found that 42% of employees check in with work when on holiday. Hand over your work to your colleagues before taking that well-needed break to keep your mind at rest.
Work Smarter Not Harder
Manage your time carefully. Weekly team meetings to establish everyone’s workloads can be effective. This gives the opportunity for you to express your concerns and feelings and delegate work if needed. Assess how you spend your time, think what you could do to be more efficient with your workload. The majority of people spend half of their working hours doing non-work-related activities, as people easily glide from online shopping to venue finding when at work. Refraining from these distractions could be the difference between finishing at 5:30PM not 6:30PM, staying late should be an exception not the norm.
It’s a lot easier said than done but take one step at a time. If you make the effort to find this happy balance of work and personal time, you will be more fulfilled in your career and a much more attentive friend and family member. Research shows that too much stress can be a career killer. Following these tips to avoid burnout can be the difference between an enjoyable career or early retirement, don’t let your talent go to waste.
So, how do YOU find the Even in Events?
Comment below and let us know what works for you!
Great blog and very thought provoking.
I didn’t know that there was a setting that would stop email notifications – that would probably be my biggest lifesaver when it comes to balance. Having a separate work mobile I’m constantly checking it when it buzzes with a new email whether I’m in or out of work – and as a matter of fact as I’m writing this it just rang and I answered it… while I’m sat at home!!!
Most people who get involved in this industry learn to understand the stress and unsociable hours that come with it but they don’t always know how to manage it. People constantly say to me ‘oh you can’t have much of a social life?’ And sometimes I agree with them especially in the lead up to a large event. However I’m lucky enough to have a very understanding group of friends… ones I plan social events with weeks and sometimes months in advance.. impromptu nights out are a rarety!
The biggest thing for me is accepting colleagues help when they offer it during busy times and vice versa. Which was hard at first being a person who likes everything done a certain way and to a high standard, but I’m thankful for the extra hand when it means I leave the office at a half reasonable time.
Great blog and all incredibly relevant to anyone working in this crazy industry that we’ve chosen!
Hi Hannah,
Thank you! I’m glad some of our tips can hopefully help you in the future to stop checking your emails on your days off! It’s great to hear your advice on planning social events weeks or months in advance, this is definitely something to consider in this industry!
Is there any other advice/tips you would give to people considering working in this industry in the future?
Really interesting blog with lots of useful tips and advice!
It seriously makes me consider to turn my phone off once in a while and to take a break away and spend some time with family and friends.
I personally find having a daily checklist to reach certain goals a day helps me to retrain stress and I’d recommend this to anyone who has organisational issues!
Fantastic read for anybody considering working in this industry, we all know the hours are long and draining but the overall outcome is always worth it!
Thank you for your comment and tip!
I’m glad you’re considering turning your phone off and spending time with family and friends.
Even with all the stress, would you recommend working in this industry?
Great blog with really useful tips, I’ll definitely will be trying some!
I found when on placement working in events, taking a 20 minute walk during lunch was really helpful and got my creativity flowing!
This is great to hear Lilly!
Are you still interested in pursuing a career in events or has the stress aspect put you off?
Very interesting blog.
I use to work ridiculous hours in my old job and would log on from home on my laptop. I would get up and turn on my laptop and answer emails in the middle of the night because I couldn’t rest.
At my new job the events are shared by everyone meaning that the pressure isn’t just on one or two people. This means that everyone can share tasks and if everyone chips in you may only need to stay an hour later.
With regards to switching off at home – I turn my mobile off and keep it in my work bag. I also leave my laptop at work now.
Thank you for this Rebecca!
Interesting to hear the comparison between the 2 companies and good to see it hasn’t put you off the industry!
Would you say you feel happier as a result of the change?
Great blog! As a professional in the industry for the last 10 years I always find myself turning on the computer, logging in from home. I think we always tell ourself that we don’t mind and that it’s just the nature of working in events. There is always a client that wants an urgent request and we feel the need to answer straight away. Creating a contract clause specifying contact hours is definitely something I will try!
Great blog with with very useful tips!
Thank you Merel for your comment.
This is so good to hear, hope the contract clause works well for you!
Has your work-life balance changed during the 10 years you’ve been working in the industry?
An interesting and intriguing read. Being very driven, I find it difficult to switch off from my work stance. Though I am not part of the events industry, I often find the best approach to finding a happy balance of work and personal time is to set short term targets to reduce stress levels and increase a sense of achievement.
In addition to this, getting to grips with prioritising workloads and taking regular breaks are important for separation of work and personal life. Also, I feel like a good social life outside of work such as meeting up with friends or finding a hobby (such as joining a club) contributes to a healthy balance.
Thank you for your comment!
It is interesting to see how people from other industries approach finding a happy balance.
We completely agree that setting short-term targets can help reduce stress levels!
After reading this article, how would you say your industry compares to events?
Great read – very well written with some great pointers!
Huge fan of the ”SWITCH OFF” paragraph in particular.
I have seen an instance where an employee was actually off ill for 3 weeks due to stress. Not only did the individual always arrive to work early and leave late, he would always seem to monitor/send emails on his days off…even when on holiday. As it turned out, those extra hours put in actually had a negative effect on his work productivity and more importantly personal well-being. When out of office, keeping away from your work emails and even social media in general can be a healthy way to spend quality time with friends and family. I’m sure they would appreciate it too.
Before I started travelling, at my last job I would find myself going for a lunch break walk as you have suggested and feel this is a great way to keep your mind off all the ”urgent” work that needs doing. I find that going to the gym and doing exercise (especially through hobbies as you have stated…like football!) regularly helps de-stress and exercises the mind.
During busier times, I found it helpful to take 10 mins each morning to go through what work needs prioritising and set mini deadlines for each. This along with weekly team meetings may seem like time you haven’t got to spend each morning…but having a clear plan in your head as to how you want the day to proceed has always seemed to reduce stress and made work-load seem more bearable and manageable.
Thank you for the tips, I will take these with me when i’m next in full-time work. I will certainly try not to overwork out of office hours and just think, is every email received from these clients from hell really that urgent? Be that tortoise…slow and steady wins the race.
PS LOVE the title.
Thank you very much for your comment!
It’s so interesting to see real examples of where people have burnt out due to the stress.
We completely agree that taking just 10 minutes out for team meetings may seem like a waste of time but is very effective!
We’re glad you plan on using these tips in your future job, we hope they work well for you!
Now you’ve been travelling, do you think it will be harder to get back into the work life routine?
‘Fantastic read with very effective pictures!
These tips are very useful for those of us who don’t work in the events industry and I never knew about the email settings.
Thank you for your comment, we’re glad you like the pictures too!
What industry do you work in and how does it compare to events?
I work in dentistry where the working hours are 9-5 for 5 days a week, this is because I can’t take any work home with me for obvious reasons. Therefore, I don’t have the same struggle of finding a healthy balance!
This shows such a contrast between 2 industries! Do you find the working hours of event profs shocking?
Thought provoking blog. This is something everyone in the events industry deals with regardless of the sector.
I’m guilty of not leaving my desk for lunch. I’m half eating and half catching up on emails.
My team are all supportive of one another though and as you said, we always have team meetings to ensure we’re okay with what needs to be done each week and each month.
My event coordinators are miracle workers, especially as they have children to balance in with their work life. So it’s not just about going out with friends that is the issue, families and young children can be affected too. I haven’t seen my parents since Christmas because I haven’t had a single weekend off, and as wedding season is coming up it’s going to get tougher for me.
Do you think it’s fair to say that people should expect these hours and are thoroughly warned about these hours the moment they step into the industry, so therefore complaints regarding their balance is invalid? They know what they’re getting into…
Delegating tasks is so important! But ensure that the employees you’re delegating tasks too are comfortable with them and confident in completing the task.
I think training of staff to a high standard could be connected to this point, as you need to ensure your staff are qualified enough and have the skills to complete the task.
I, too, didn’t know you could turn email notifications off. A revelation!
Thank you very much for your comment and thoughts!
We are glad to hear you find team meetings useful, we think delegation of work is key.
We completely agree that event profs know what they’re getting into. However, we believe employees should still expect a healthy work-life balance. Did you expect a better work-life balance before entering the industry?
Really well written piece, with some interesting points. Firstly I will add some context before I respond. I run three businesses, one is an international sports website/media company with over 35,000 members and around half a million fans across social media and a relatively large YouTube channel. The second is subscription coaching website and the third is a social media consultancy company, where we run large international sports manufacturers social media channels and various other online platforms. In total I pretty much work 12-16 hours a day 6-7 days a week. This mainly involves working from our office and also Includes a lot of time spent travelling around the world gathering content, going to meetings and working with different clients.
Because of this I have a different outlook on a lot of the points you make. Your first point however I completely agree with, but it’s more to do with the fact that if you’re not healthy then, as your study suggests, you’re more likely to get ill. Being ill is of course very bad for business. So therefore rigorous physical activity a few times a week is essential for overall well being and business performance.
Your second point about having strict working hours simply doesn’t work if you want to be highly successful in business. From my perspective if you want strict working hours then you should probably seek employment. I say this because if you have this mentality then you will almost certainly get eaten alive by those who don’t mind working ungodly hours and going the extra mile, doing what you are not willing to do. I am not saying there is anything wrong with wanting to work strict hours, however if you want them, then you should not risk going into a business that you aren’t committed enough to. You’re much safer in employment where your only rivals for job promotions, are those who are limited to working the exact same hours as you do. In these situations its more about productivity within a certain time frame (working hours).
Switching off from technology again, in my mind, is just an excuse for laziness. When you’re self-employed or running a company you should always be available 24/7 because you never know when your next big opportunity is going to come from. However, on the other hand sometimes if you are close to breaking point then sometimes a rest from technology for a while can definitely be beneficial, it’s all about accounting for long term benefits. As you say in your article you want to always avoid burnout. There is no point working as hard as you can for 1 month working 18 hours a day and then burning out so you can’t work for two months, again as you said this is what research suggests.
I also completely agree with your last point that you make where you say that working smarter and prioritising is far better than working really hard on something of little long term benefit. All in all a good read and definitely had some points that really reminded me of some key things that are essential for success in whatever you do.
Wow, thank you for such a great comment!
It is very interesting to see from a different industry.
We agree that physical activity a few times a week is essential for overall well-being and business performance.
We too believe that in order to be successful long hours may be needed. However, these hours apply to everyone working in events, not just those wanting to achieve high.
We agree with your thoughts on burnout but we believe it is definitely beneficial to take a break, so when do you take a break?
It sounds like you do work a lot of hours, do you ever feel the effects of burnout and what do you do when you start to feel too stressed?
I completely understand what you mean about working in events, when we travel to big events the people behind the scenes organising it work even longer hours than us. We actually asked the head of running a large international sports event how he manages with his crazy hours, he was literally working 18 hour days with 4 hours sleep for the entire week. He told us that he does it by going all out for that week then having a week off completely.
In terms of how I personally deal with stress I’m a kickboxer and train 4/5 times a week so my stress release is to go and get punched and kicked in the head haha.
In terms of rest I don’t really do it, I seem to be able to cope with life much better when I’m really busy. If if ever does get too much however I’ll go for a 15/20 minute walk to gather my thoughts and then get back to work.
It’s interesting to hear that you have noticed the long hours event profs work whilst on-site. Through our experience, we have also been asked by delegates when we find time to sleep during events!
Sometimes taking a whole week off isn’t possible in events due to workloads and other events needing attention. Therefore, delegating work is essential.
Do you think your busy lifestyle will lead to you burning out quicker than those who try to seek a healthy balance earlier in their career?
This is an excellent insightful read, well written and thought provoking. From someone who has worked in the events industry for 15 years, albeit in the finance and commercial area, I have seen evidence of all of the bad habits and consequences that working longer and longer hours brings.
Client comments such as “Thank you for your amazing dedication to bring our event to life, it was our best event ever” are great, but not if they’re written on a “Get Well Soon” card.
In finance it’s the immovable deadlines (internal and external) that loom large and often – these are the things that keep us from our homes and families. Planning and prioritising are vital to achieve these in work time.
I find it helps to keep asking yourself questions? Why am I still here and everyone else has gone home. What can I do differently to make things change? Someone once said, “if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got!”
So, surround yourselves with a great team, implement solutions and systems to make things better, invest in smart technology that saves time and effort, and try to deal with things once and once only.
Get exercise and get away from your desk – its vitally important. I go out for walks during lunch – it’s a great way to clear the mind and refresh.
Just be careful not to spill soup down your shirt!
Thank you for a great response, we love the “Get Well Soon” card comment!
These tips are really helpful and it’s insightful to see that it isn’t just event managers but also the people that handle the event companies finances.
We definitely agree that having smart technology is a key part of working smarter and not harder!
Over the 15 years in the industry, have you noticed a change in peoples’ work-life balance?
Hello There 🙂
This is thought provoking debate and one I have been tinkering on the edges with as some of my research into quality family time and Family Quality of Life (FQOL). I think the events industry is suffering the demands from post modern capitalism more than most. I think this is due to what has been described by many as the blurring of boundaries between work and social life.
These boundaries used to be very clear, but technology is confusing a generation of people who as you quite rightly identify need to know when to put their phones down (lest they suffer from Nomophobia – yes the fear of not having ones mobile phone – is now a real and serious problem papers being written in this area!).
As I see it the inability of modern professionals to separate work and leisure means that when they have time they consider as leisure or free time a great deal of expectation (often false) is placed upon that experience as they search for something sacred or optimal. ok I’ll get to the point now 🙂 and it is the fact that as a result of the demands for optimal experiences as a result of time pressure – event planners are working longer and harder in order to satisfy their consumers.
The techniques you suggest are very practical in terms of stress reduction as for me I go running with my dog, and do you know what I think about when I do? nothing….occasionally I sing (open fields so nobody to tell me to shut up!) – but I think thats the point – we need to empty our heads otherwise stress will build which is certainly not good for our mental health.
All my good wishes to you as future graduates
Take good care
Allan
Hello Allan,
Thank you so much for your comment, you have some very good points.
We also agree with you that the event industry requires long hours and it might seem that work-life balance is not possible, however we are glad to see that people are trying to clear their mind and actually taking some time off!
And like you said technology plays a big part in this as people can not be kept away from their phones and laptops. Do you think that this issue wouldn’t be as big if it wasn’t for the new developing technology?
I think the way in which we get our information is the key, it is so easy to stay connected and continue our search for further dopamine hits – just like we do in our leisure time – technology is I guess blurring leisure and work together – because we facebook / instagram / WhatsApp in our leisure….
We too agree that it’s so easy nowadays to stay connected (almost too connected) during your free time, both at work and at home.
Do you think it’s now becoming more important to have a healthy blend rather than a complete balance?
Hello.
I don’t believe that things have changed that much over the years. There are definitely more corporate social responsibility policies in existence now than there were back then. These should also extend from customers to include their suppliers, but I think people generally tend to pay lip service to these.
This is interesting to hear from someone who has been working in the industry for so long.
Thank you again for your thoughts!
Dear #FutureEventProfs
A thought provoking and stimulating article: seeking balance in one’s life is a condition we all live and suffer by and perhaps more so today than during the industrial revolution where even though we worked long hours in largely unsafe environments we actually had clear separation between work and leisure time.
Indeed, time has never been more important, the postmodern complex of information saturation tends to ensure we hardly ever have time to just do nothing.
I have been doing some research into family time and ‘Family Quality of Life (FQOL)’ all of which is centred on time and how time allows collective memory and bonding. My findings indicate that as a result of the blurring of work/ leisure time in part due to flexible hours and overuse of technology (not knowing when to switch off) the event consumer / practioner relationship has changed (and is now very different to my working background in public sector festivals).
As a result of the compacting of time there is a fear from most that they must get the optimum experience from events. This is evident in the digital evidence many take from events – you know those people filming the concert rather than living in the liminal moment! – they do this as well as a result of nomophobia (fear of being without their mobiles – papers now being written in this area).
The point being that this desire for an ‘optimum experience’ is putting greater pressure on event producers to demonstrate value for money and ensure facilities and services match consumer expectations meaning that effectively they work round the clock perhaps also as a condition of being aware of instant social media feedback (not something I ever had to deal with thankfully).
I think the suggestions you put forward to cope with work life balance are well thought through. The more generations understand about mental health as well as physiological health then the better off we will all be. Personally, I believe in healthy body healthy mind, whilst we all love to be around other people I think there is great value in taking 30 mins to be by yourself and just switch off completely. I go running with my dog for 35 mins almost every day, I have music on, but I couldn’t tell you what songs I listen too I just switch off – and I think that is very important.
I wish you all success in the Industry but take of yourself don’t rely on any organisation to do this for you (it won’t).
Take good care
Allan
Hi Allan,
Thank you again for another insightful comment!
FQOL sounds very interesting and we will definitely delve into this further.
It’s great to see your views on the topic and we too believe mental and physiological health are key to focus on.
Thank you for your support, we will take our own and others advice on board!
Really helpful read, particularly with the added graphics! This could also apply to a student studying events – where responsibilities are being pulled in all different directions. The tip for emails is not something i have come across before, i’ll definitely be giving that a go.
Thank you for your comment!
We definitely agree that this also applies to students studying events.
We hope the email setting idea works for you!
A very interesting blog. However, does your first sentence betray the cultural norm? Do we all know that you work long hours in events? Shouldn’t the question be “why should working in events mean working long hours?” That way we question this deep seated norm and start to ask questions that are meaningful?
Thank you for your comment. Through research and experience, we have found that long hours seem to be a norm in the industry and the graph reflects this. We looked into the idea of why, however we believed that finding a balance was more of an issue due to the repercussions of stress and burning out. From sharing our tips, we are giving advice on cutting down working hours – for example contract clauses and working smarter not harder. Therefore if advice like this is taken, this could resolve the issue of why event profs work long hours.
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and quite frankly, couldn’t agree more that taking regular breaks from work can prove beneficial. I feel like I can relate to this blog a great amount, especially the ‘client from hell’ section, there is nothing worse!
Hello Teresa,
Thank you so much for your comment, we are glad that you enjoyed our blog!
Yes we agree clients can be demanding especially when you just want to relax at home. Is there any advice that you can share with us on how you manage your time in order to have a healthy work-life balance?
Hi,
I love the idea of the setting for not getting Emails delivered to my inbox all the time.
I’m bad at seperating work and family, as I can work from home and we seem to just being able to do it. Some days can be no work in the morning or starting late then working in the afternoon and in the evening or any combo, what ever I decide each day.
I don’think I ever switch off completely… but hopefully I do. I have my lunch away from my desk, I have hobbies, however, it does not stop me thinking about things I need to do when having lunch and doing some hobbies.
It helps that I make ‘to do lists’ to clear my mind..It makes me being able to ‘switch off’ a little bit more. I dont think I’m stressed but I’m anxious about making sure I have finished/done/completed everything I need to do.
Stricted working hours would be ideal, as I’m so bad at checking Emails and messages for facebook groups when I ‘chill’ on the sofa in the evening!! Before I know I have my phone in my hand, even if I have left work (my laptop!!)
I really enjoyed reading your blog. It made me think that I need to change some things to being able to separate more work and family.
Hi Kristin,
Thank you so much for the comment, we are thrilled that you enjoyed our blog!
It’s great to hear that you eat lunch away at your desk and use hobbies to keep your personal life and work life separate! It’s crazy how much we can be away from the desk but still be thinking about what we need to do when were back. The to do list is a brilliant way to keep your mind clear and stop yourself getting as anxious! That’s great to hear that you feel that you need to make some changes and our blog has helped you decide that, is there any of our tips/advice you are now going to use in order to get the right balance?
Love this! It certainly resonates with this #eventprof and it’s so current with how technology is going – it certainly makes it harder to switch off!
When travelling / staying overnight for events – often we prioritise the cost effectiveness of a hotel, but if a hotel had a gym (likely to be a little more expensive) it would help with keeping people more energised and sticking to their routine despite travelling.
Thinking of ways to travel – the cost effective drive isn’t likely to be the best impact on the employee if they’re then going to be working later for it – trains and dongles that allow them to keep working, but allowing them to switch off on time is a positive.
Project Management software that gives 100% transparency to customers would help on dealing with clients as they have an update at their fingertips, simplifying many elements for everyone.
I like to think of putting the fun in events too – maybe see the night away before a big event as an opportunity to team bond over dinner.
Thank you for your comment Lucy!
We agree with the idea of spending that little bit more to ensure people are still active and sticking to their routine, as travel is a big part of the industry.
We really like your idea of team bonding the night before especially for those who you haven’t work with before.
Did you expect to be travelling as much as you do in this industry?
A very interesting blog with some great tips shared. From my years at work, I have found it is very easy to overload as, at the time, it seems important to stay those extra hours to finish the job. Switching off from work emails is hard to do but I have found it necessary to keep the work-life balance in check.
Thank you for your comment!
We agree that switching off at home is important to ensure that your personal life is kept separate and you don’t let work take over your whole life.
Do you have any further tips that help you to maintain a healthy balance?
I like to keep fit and enjoy going for a run or going to the gym straight after work. I find that listening to music while exercising helps me to stop thinking about work during my free time.
Great blog, very interesting to hear about the stats around mental health issues revolving around work too.
I personally find the events industry certainly a demanding industry and this blog helps identify the key tips of work-life balance for this job role. Its crucial that all event managers need to take this into account to find that right balance.
Thanks for sharing guys!
Thanks for your comment Joey!
The industry certainly is very demanding, we hope you take some of our tips and try them yourself!