Canadian independent agency Rethink is pushing a new solution to the industry's burnout problem: no more Monday meetings. 

The shop instituted the policy in July and is now calling on other agencies to do the same via a new petition. The goal is to eliminate weekend "homework" in a move to curb creative burnout. 

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Rethink, which was named Ad Age's 2021 Creative Agency of the Year, launched the “No Meeting Monday” petition last week during an awards show from Canadian trade publication Strategy Magazine. It’s become an annual tradition for the agency of the year finalists to release videos satirizing the industry during the awards show. This year, instead of satire, Rethink wanted to offer a "solution" to a real industry problem.  

“This came about as a way to create a better balance for us,” said Mike Dubrick, executive creative director at Rethink. “Ultimately, I would say it’s a respect thing. Respecting people's time that should be for family and friends."

The agency is pushing the effort in a new video:

Coming up with creative and great ideas requires time to step away from the computer and not work seven days a week, Dubrick said. The goal is to have better output and relationships, things that he said are already happening.

“We’re not assigning homework to people over the weekend,” he said. “We are servicing our clients and trying to deliver amazing products to them.”

A number of agencies have offered Fridays off in the past or no-meeting Fridays, but the difference with no-meeting Mondays is that “having no meetings on Monday acknowledges that you're screwing people over by forcing them to work over the weekend to get ready for it,” Dubrick said.

Clients have responded well to the change in policy since implemented, with Dubrick saying "it has simply become part of our ways of working." He acknowledged, however, that there have been "unavoidable exceptions" since the policy was adopted, "but they are rare because we've built strong relationships with our clients and collectively believe in what a policy like this is trying to achieve."

Rethink has 250 people on staff and has clients like Kraft Heinz, IKEA, McCain and Athleta. Its leaders have been mindful of maintaining the team's work-life balance, even throughout the pandemic. Dubrick said no-meeting Mondays "seemed like a natural addition" to current policies, which include biannual culture checks. "Our industry has always worn late nights and weekends as a badge of honor. This is a rejection of that mindset."

It follows other moves by agencies to address mental health issues. During the summer, Interpublic-owned Kinesso gave its 700 U.S. employees a paid week off from Aug. 30 to Sept. 6.  Mediabrands gave its 3,000 employees the same week off. 

“Mental health is fundamental for us as an agency,” Dubrick said. “Whether that means giving our people free access to Headspace, taking the time to call and check-in, or an initiative like this to protect their free time, it's something we take very seriously.”

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