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Work-Life Balance in Marketing Careers

We interviewed over 120 marketing professionals from around the world – from Sydney and Melbourne to New York and London – to find out how they manage their work life balance and what a typical day in their life looks like.

Whether you’re new to the industry and want to get an idea of what to expect, or been working in marketing for a number of years and want to learn how other marketers are balancing work and life, this should be a useful read for you.

The people we interviewed worked across a variety of careers, industries and capacities, across in-house, agency and non-profit organisations. Some of these roles include:

  • Marketing Manager
  • Chief Marketing Officer
  • Digital Marketing Manager
  • Content Marketing Strategist
  • Head of Digital
  • Senior Communications & Marketing Coordinator
  • Head of Marketing
  • Product Marketing Manager

Some example tasks typically performed by these marketing professionals include:

  • Drafting a blog post, copywriting product content
  • Managing vendors, partners and suppliers
  • Developing an upcoming PR strategy or an event
  • Creating a landing page for a new campaign and reviewing campaign performance from the last week
  • Working with the product team on a new go-to-market strategy for a launch
  • Collaborating with designers and developers on a new website and rebrand

Work-life balance stats for marketing professionals

88% can work remotely or have flexible hours

Overall, marketing career are great with working from home or flexible hours. With the nature of marketing and widespread communication tools, marketers can pretty much work from anywhere as long as they have an internet connection. 88% of interviewees said that their company supported flexible work hours and remote work.

A common theme found in these interviews is that, while the marketers had the freedom to choose where to work, most opted to come into the office, citing the collaborative energy and buzz, something I can definitely relate to. Basically – home for deep, uninterrupted work, work for collaborations, brainstorming, whiteboarding. Best of both worlds might be: Monday, Thursday and Friday come into the office, while Tuesday and Wednesday for deep work at home.

“I am fortunate to work for a company that is very flexible. I work from home two days per week when I’m in London. I have a very long commute and being able to avoid that for two days of the week has an enormously positive impact on both my work and my family life.” – Ngaire Moyes, Senior Director, Brand Marketing and Communications, EMEA and LATAM at LinkedIn

25% work outside of normal hours, do work when they leave the office

25% of the marketers we spoke to said they usually do some sort of work after they leave the office, or outside of their normal hours. A marketing job can sometimes make you feel like there’s end to the day: there’s always new ideas popping up at random times, new website launches, global conferences. Throw in the 24/7 news and social media cycle and it can feel like a 24/7 job at times.

One of the downsides of flexible hours and remote work is that you can end up working too much, blurring the boundaries between your home life and work life, leading to burn out. Just something to be mindful of next time you’re checking your emails during dinner time.

“I’ve never been very good at the whole work life balance thing as I just really love my job and it’s a core part of who I am and my purpose in life. Most of my friends work in events, PR, marketing and media so we aren’t used to having days off — there’s always a client or industry event to attend.” – Amy Green, Senior Marketing & Business Development Manager at DesignScene

63% incorporate some form of daily exercise

For a majority of the marketers we interviewed, incorporating some form of daily exercise into their routine was a huge priority for work-life balance. Whether it was going out for a walk in the evening after work, hitting the gym first thing in the morning or ducking out to a Pilates class during lunch, exercise was a huge element of work-life balance and over half the marketers we interviewed incorporated it every single day.

“I make sure that my schedule includes exercise. It helps me burn calories and tension, which is great for my physical and mental wellbeing. My tip to working out regularly is to remove the blockers. I mentioned I have equipment at home so there’s no excuses and when I’m travelling I always pack my gym gear for a run in a new park or use the Sweat app or a workout in the hotel gym.” – Sara Tweedly, Group Executive, Digital & Marketing at CANSTAR

35% meditate

In addition to daily exercise, meditation has also been growing in popularity as a game-changing tool for marketers to achieve work-life balance. 35% of our interviewees said meditation helped them with reducing anxiety, dealing with stress, relaxing after a long day at work, or to clear their mind first thing in the morning.

“Starting my day with some exercise a few times a week, meditating every morning (and night when possible), listening to podcasts on my transit home (Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday is my favourite by far), lighting candles upon arriving home and going for evening walks have been the best additions to my routine.” – Jacqui Roth, Senior Brand Manager at Lion

38% wake up early (6am or earlier)

38% of the marketers we interviewed said they wake up early (6am or before), to do things like: meditate, exercise, journal or just ease into the day. A lot of them also use this time to scan the news, especially if they manage clients, or get a jump on emails before heading into the office.

“Getting up early and just having a routine has really helped me. When I lived by myself, I’d get up at different times depending on what was happening each day. I found that this made me more tired and less productive than when I forced myself to have a consistent routine.” – Rebeccah Churchward, Client Manager at Kamber

28% have a side hustle or passion project

Having a side hustle or passion project can be a great way to nurture creativity, and provide an opportunity for you to test some new ideas with no restrictions. Also – they’re fun! Whether it’s an ecommerce website selling paintings, food blog, or YouTube travel channel, having a side hustle can be a great way to disconnect from your main job and inject some renewed passion into your work life.

“In April this year, my sister and I also launched our side hustle, ARNA. ARNA’s vision is to change the stories women see and tell about themselves in society and our mission is to empower women to make bold decisions.” – Natasha Ritz, Head of Marketing & Communications at Parcelpoint

Conversations with marketing professionals