Mumbai, India – Working from home, now coined as the famous WFH, for the most part, had been initially looked to as a positive working structure for many, eliminating additional steps from workers’ daily grind such as not having to bother with commute, taking the pressure out to dress up, and overall, having less expenses and just more focus.
However, as everyone cruised through the pandemic testing out new lifestyles and decisions, people soon found the WFH has its own downsides and struggles that take a toll on workers’ mental health.
Leading online professional network LinkedIn aims to take a lead in this conversation with an India-specific campaign, and in partnership with digital creative agency The Glitch, the network has launched the second phase of its ‘Find The Balance’ campaign.
While work-from-home has many pros, work now being closely integrated with home life reveals some unexpected repercussions, and the campaign aims to provoke honest conversations about such struggle – finding work-life balance amid the pandemic.
Being more immersed with work in the comforts of one’s home steals away some precious time with friends and family, and each of the three ad films of the campaign tackles this dilemma.
Specially intended for professionals in India, each 35-second film shows the WFH life of fictional Vedika, Andrew, and Gaurav, who is a sales lead, a data analyst, and a marketing manager respectively. Each narrative shows how the individuals, amid the busyness of work, find time and space to engage with their friends, children, and parents.
In the first phase of the ‘Find The Balance’ campaign which was released in September this year, the stories of each were subtly touched on in a single one-minute film. In the sequel, viewers will be able to learn deeper how each represents the struggles of employees sheltered at home this pandemic.
Sivaram Parameswaran, the head of brand marketing for APAC at LinkedIn, commented that the #FindTheBalance brand campaign aims to be a reminder for LinkedIn members to “hit pause” and reconnect with their family, friends, and colleagues, and “find a new idea of balance.”
“As the world of work continues to evolve, we are committed to fostering a sense of community for our members to connect, spark conversations, share ideas, and encourage each other to build flexible schedules and a well-rounded lifestyle,” said Parameswaran.
The Glitch’s Creative Director Lucille Pereira shared that what she loves about the campaign is the ‘mirror’ it holds up to people’s lives.
“In the last 1.5 years, working from home gave us so many new perspectives. It taught us to bond deeply with our family, giving us the advantage of having all meals with them, as opposed to a ‘rushed’ breakfast, and a ‘tired’ dinner. It showed us how to make time for family, or carve out time for self, whether it’s doing things we love or just a quiet coffee & sunset session,” said Pereira.
Meanwhile, Riya Lalchandani, associate business director at The Glitch, added, “Our long-standing relationship with LinkedIn has always paved the way for relevant and insightful work. The world around us has changed and many of us have experienced the blurring of our professional and personal lives.”
With an official hashtag #findthebalance, the campaign also takes in the form of social media engagement, where in LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter professionals are encouraged to rewrite motivational quotes to make them more relatable for the post-pandemic world of work.
By humanizing old adages, the agency said the campaign hopes to help professionals to adopt a mindset of building a healthier lifestyle with clear work-life boundaries that allow for rest and recuperation” without guilt.”
The new short films are now live on LinkedIn and LinkedIn’s YouTube channels.
According to the agency, the first phase of the campaign garnered six million engagements on Facebook alone.
