What I Learned in NY: The True Meaning of Work-Life Balance.

What is work-life balance anyway?

This year, Ad Age magazine released its "Best Workplaces" ranking, and McGarry Bowen, one of Dentsu Inc. Aegis Network's creative agencies, made the list. The ranking's score is based on six categories: employee benefits, company culture, talent development, environment, internal communication, and employee perks.

An award panel is displayed in the office

Since January 2019, I've been seconded to McGarry Bowen NY as a copywriter. Here at McGarry Bowen, you can bring your dog to work, get snacks every day at 3 PM, take paid time off on your birthday, and enjoy regular company events like live performances by featured artists and terrace parties... In my daily workplace, I encounter many fresh examples related to work-life balance.

Work-life balance fundamentally means "the synergistic effect and positive cycle achieved by harmonizing life and work."

It's not about balancing work and life on a scale, as is often imagined. The key point is that the more fulfilling your personal life is, the more skills you acquire and the better your work performance becomes. In other words, the image of a cycle, not a scale, is crucial.

For example, McGarry Bowen offers a benefit where employees can get tuition reimbursed for self-improvement courses relevant to their work. Colleagues use this budget to attend design classes or workshops on "improv" (short for improvisation), which is currently popular in the US.

I myself signed up for stand-up comedy classes and took on my first-ever stage performance. Writing numerous jokes each week and testing their reception in front of classmates from diverse industries not only improved my presentation skills but also boosted my confidence in English copywriting. It also heightened my awareness to finish work more efficiently to attend classes. I believe it was the company's backing that gave me the courage to take that step forward.

Stand-up comedy stage performance

Another unique aspect of this company is that founder Gordon Bowen comes to work every day.

He's not an unreachable figure; you'll exchange greetings if you pass him in the hallway. All management offices are transparent. Anyone can drop by easily, creating a flat environment where opinions can be shared without worrying about hierarchy, fostering a homey atmosphere.

Furthermore, every morning, an email summarizing the progress of all projects within the team is distributed. At the beginning of this email, the vacations of each team member, including the manager, are listed as a reminder. The reason is to allow work to be adjusted so it doesn't overlap with vacations. Another benefit is that projects are distributed equally, preventing workloads from becoming concentrated on one team. Respecting each other's work-life balance in this way leads to improved work efficiency.

Toward a Cutting-Edge Creative Agency

McGary Bowen, which places such importance on work-life balance, is now at a turning point. The United Airlines campaign they launched two years ago became a hot topic in New York and ultimately won awards at Cannes Lions and The One Show, two of the world's three major advertising awards.

United Airlines campaign utilizing Yellow Cab's digital media

The award-winning concept tackled the challenge of communicating to busy New Yorkers that Newark Airport, United's hub, gets them to Manhattan faster than JFK.

The idea was to display a real-time comparison of car travel times from the passenger's current location to both JFK and Newark airports on the electronic media installed atop yellow cabs. By leveraging sophisticated real-time traffic data, it proved that Newark was faster from any location within Manhattan.

Lately, I often hear the creative direction "Unlock the handcuffs." It means to think freely, unbound by preconceptions. Our policy is to focus on creative strategies that don't limit themselves to specific media or methods, as long as they solve the client's problem. Julie, who is also my direct supervisor, says this:

"The exciting thing about this industry is that a single breakthrough can establish you as an agency delivering cutting-edge creativity. McGarry Bowen now has both talented people and clients. All we need is strong work to emerge, and our moment will come. I'm confident we'll see powerful ideas that surprise the world in the next two or three years."

Is Work-Life Balance the Source of Creativity?

Matt Ian joined as the new CCO from Droga5 in the fall of 2018, further strengthening the agency's aggressive stance. Ian is a powerhouse, having won global advertising awards and even been nominated for an Emmy, the highest honor in American television.

Matt Ian

He likens creativity to a savings account.

"People who input information from diverse life experiences and external stimuli are better able to generate fresh ideas. If you're constantly working and only withdrawing from that account, you'll eventually go bankrupt. You can spot an overworked creative immediately—their ideas feel familiar. When your perspective becomes inward-focused, the quality of your ideas naturally declines. That's precisely why work-life balance is essential for creativity," he states.

When asked what kind of creative talent he aims to cultivate going forward, he answered "T-shaped." That is, individuals possessing broad knowledge while specializing in one specific area.

The horizontal line represents general knowledge, while the vertical line represents specialized expertise. We need art directors skilled in design, CM planners who think like directors, copywriters with a knack for humor, and digital creatives with a hacker mindset.

Of course, no single person possesses all specializations. Rather than expecting one person to have multiple areas of expertise, the principle for achieving peak performance is to gather diverse specialists who complement each other, enabling the team to generate high-quality ideas more efficiently.

With Matt leading the way, fresh talent from other agencies is joining, and it's hoped that diverse chemical reactions will spark big ideas. As McGarry Bowen reaches a major turning point as a creative agency, how promoting work-life balance will fuel creative leaps offers crucial insights for us all exploring new ways of working.

(※)EIBA (Emerging International Business Assignment)
A practical training program where young employees are dispatched to Dentsu Inc. Aegis Network locations for one year as part of developing next-generation talent. Participants gain work experience in a cross-cultural environment, aiming to acquire the perspective, skills, and professional network necessary to lead projects both domestically and internationally.