THE CCHM:PING CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT states that our normal working hours are ‘from 9 to 5.30, with an hour for lunch, or otherwise as required by your manager.’ Very likely this wording wouldn’t stand up in court, but in truth it doesn’t stand up too well in real life either.
Working hours in our agency, as in all agencies, are a matter of individual choice – with the choices people make depending enormously on their roles.
Creatives, as any fule kno, get in late. There is much bitterness and grumbling on the rare occasions they’re summoned to meetings that start before 10. Sightings before 9 are greeted with cries of astonishment, and more likely to result from late working (usually on a new business pitch) than an early start. Years ago, a copywriter colleague of mine asked me, about 11.30 one morning, if I’d seen another colleague that day. “No,” I replied. “I don’t think he’s in yet.” “Damn,” replied my friend. “I’ve only come in this early because we said we’d go to the pub before lunch.”
This cavalier attitude towards timekeeping always causes friction with other departments, especially senior management. Over the many years that I was a creative director, I was often instructed to send members of my department stiff memos about timekeeping. I always obliged, sending out a note which read “This is a stiff memo about timekeeping” whenever I was asked.
Account managers tend to get in at fairly normal times, but the interesting question is what time they leave in the evening. This is a reliable measure of the individual’s level of ambition. Those whose careers have plateaued go about six (so do those actively interviewing for new jobs). Those going all-out for promotion stay till 9. If the bosses have all left by then, they send the bosses emails immediately before they go. The keenest of all change the time settings on their computers, so that the emails are timed at 03.15.
Creative services people get in pretty early and leave a bit later than average, but their distinguishing characteristic is, needless to say, the amount of time spent in the pub. Many people don’t fully understand the extent to which the inner London licensed drinks trade is dependent on creative services people for its financial wellbeing. Even if you don’t count the drinks bought for them by printers and studio reps, the financial contribution is monumental.
Senior management can be said to work very long hours, but it does kind of depend what you mean by ‘working.’ A lot of their ‘working’ consists of going to posh restaurants for lunches and dinners, posh hotels for awards ceremonies and other industry events, football and cricket matches, golf days, Wimbledon, Cheltenham and Henley. It’s true that they attend the large majority of these events in the company of their clients, but although they never admit it to their colleagues (for obvious reasons) they usually get on with the clients pretty well.
I could write much more on this subject, but I notice that it’s 5.29. My manager not having required me to do anything different today, I’m out of here.
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