Working in the creative industry has many perks - doing a job you enjoy, It’s fun, every working day is different and we get to creative and create things that add value to people’s lives. It’s emotionally fulfilling and rewarding.
The only problem is compared to other industries and even other departments within the same business that is built around creativity, financially it’s one of the least rewarding jobs.
Growing up in 2 different cultures, in South Korea we openly talk about salary and it’s very clearly benchmarked. In the UK we don't talk about money (and aren’t allowed to due to company policy). Not having visibility only benefits one party which is your employer. As we all know that knowledge is power. I personally witnessed the pay discrepancies even within the creative team for many years.
Millennials are often labelled as being disloyal but the business you have to listen to: we want to be loyal but when we know we are going to get a huge pay rise by moving on, the grass is greener on the other side. We sometimes didn’t have a choice but to move on. From my own experience, most of the time I had to move on due to the minuscule payrise (oh and trust me I asked for more with evidential good performance) I faced even though I love working with my colleagues and culture, I had to move on as it started affecting my self-confidence and for purely financial reasons. With Gen Z’s, they are even bolder and know their self worth better than the Millenials which frankly I think is fantastic. As a Millenial in a managerial position, I’m desperate not to pass my own money journey on.
In my personal experience, I was promoted to another role but didn’t get a pay rise as my then Head of Department told me that I could afford to go on a holiday to the US so I don’t need or deserve a pay rise with my promotion. As a young graduate (of 2008), I was just grateful to have a job so although I was angry I didn’t (didn’t allow to) fight back.
At the end of the day, business is business. The business gets our time, dedication, and skills and they financially benefit from them. Striping back, it’s a transactional relationship. Of course, we want to be fulfilled in our jobs but we would not compromise on our pay which I’ve done for many years.
Especially for creative, we are at the receiving end of the pay inequality. Most people know creativity adds a huge value and with this gone the revenue and the future of the business suffer. Creativity is so powerful and it’s about the time we creatives stand our ground and ask for our true worth.
In every business I’ve been in, the creatives are most of the time the least well-paid job within a business but they are the hardest to recruit and replace. This is the time we inform the industry about our value. Also, our job is not replaceable by A.I. or technology (for now).
So here is the pledge we need to make:
Do your research on Glassdoor/Linkedin/Peer to find out what people are on with similar experience and talent
Don’t shy away from asking for more. Do your research and make your case - How competitive is your market? How easily or hard can you be replaced? How much value do you add to the business? How unique are your expertise and experience?
ASK! If you don’t ask, you don’t get as many employers priority isn’t your value but saving as much money as they can for the bottom line.
Fight for your juniors. They should not be on what you were on starting as a junior. You know better and should support to pay better
Understand our value! Creative jobs are not just about the experience but we are in the industry which is rare as we need relevant experience, hard work, and talent.
Let’s support each other and bring up each other.