Is psychological safety the antidote to marketing’s burnout crisis?

The mental health of marketers is at risk. Marketing Week’s annual Career & Salary Survey found a substantial number of marketers feeling overwhelmed (58.1%), undervalued (56.1%), emotionally exhausted (50.8%) and disengaged (48.2%). All the hallmarks of burnout.

Sound familiar? It’s no wonder, when you consider the unique environment marketers are navigating. The modern day sales engine at the coalface of change and the wrong end of budget cuts. Desperately striving to keep pace with AI and the perennial pressure to prove ROI. All whilst praying not to get “found out” by finance. And, yet, in the same breath, the department tasked with driving growth, creativity and bold ideas.

This cocktail of pressure and anxiety takes its toll. Not just individually, but on the work itself. So, what’s the solution? One means is psychological safety. More than just the latest buzzword, it’s the elixir to achieve high-performing marketing teams.

‘Overwhelmed and undervalued’: Half of marketers grappling with ‘emotional exhaustion’

Coined by Harvard professor Amy Edmondson, psychological safety is “an absence of interpersonal fear.” It’s a shared belief that team members can speak up with ideas, concerns, or mistakes without fear of punishment or humiliation. It’s movable – it can vary by team or situation. For example, you might feel comfortable sharing in a small group, but freeze up when a senior stakeholder joins the room.

The fastest way to connect with psychological safety is to reflect on a time when you felt safe at work or, indeed, unsafe. I bet the periods when you were most inspired and effective coincided with high team trust. Am I right?

The research backs this up. Amy Edmonson made the concept famous highlighting how the best hospitals for outcomes weren’t those with the fewest mistakes, but the ones where you could admit to them. Why? As Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO puts it: “A diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions, decisions and outcomes for everyone.”

This is reiterated by Harvard Business Review research from Edmonson and associate professor of organisational behavior at INSEAD, Henrik Bresman, which found the strongest teams were shown to excel where there’s both high diversity and psychological safety.

Making the case for marketers

More pivotal for marketers is how psychological safety fuels one of the key components of a successful marketer – creativity. Think of a brainstorm where an introvert hesitates to share a “crazy” idea that could have won at Cannes. Or a review session where no one speaks up with concerns and flawed creative gets signed off. Would the world have seen the Cadbury Gorilla – initially panned in pre- testing but ultimately driving a 10% sales uplift – without a safe, supportive environment?

There’s evidence this creative culture contributes to the bottom line as well. MIT Sloan found companies with the most idea submissions on an idea-management platform recorded higher profitability and growth.

Psychological safety can go a long way to mitigate the risk of burnout among marketers. Whilst everyone plays a role in nurturing it, the responsibility falls heavily on leaders to cultivate a culture where people can speak up. I’d hazard a guess that the one in two marketers who’ve felt overwhelmed, undervalued, emotionally exhausted, or disengaged in the past year are likely to feel less psychologically safe with their manager and leadership teams.

Marketers are more likely to bring their A-game when they feel safe, seen and supported.

When you’re in a high-trust environment, it’s safe to speak up about the challenges you’re facing. Meaning team members seek the support they need to tackle them. But when trust it low, people often suffer in silence. They feel too at risk to admit their struggling, let alone “speak truth to power.” Meaning they persevere with unrealistic workload, unreachable targets, or difficulties in their personal life.

There’ll always be “naysayers” who think psychological safety is, at its best, “a bit soft”. Or, worse, a load of woke nonsense. But they may have missed the memo that high psychological safety doesn’t mean lower standards or coasting. In fact, it’s intrinsic to taking accountability and being motivated. Marketers are more likely to bring their A-game when they feel safe, seen and supported.

Putting theory into practice

My favourite example of best practice comes from McKinsey’s value: ‘Obligation to Dissent – a healthy approach to gathering diverse perspectives that should be taught to team members, modelled by leaders and supported by culture.’

At all levels, McKinsey encourages ‘contributary dissent’, making it everyone’s job to ask questions, challenge, interrogate, build and evolve each other’s work. Isn’t that what makes it better and stronger in the end (even if we naturally get frustrated at having to action the outputs!)?

While company-wide policies matter, the biggest impact starts with individual behaviours. My own F.I.B. framework suggests actionable ways marketers can nurture psychological safety daily:

The F is for ‘Frame’. In a nutshell, the rules of engagement are clear, so everyone’s equal. Communication is upfront and expectations are set. There are no surprises. Practical examples include sending agendas and pre-sends before meetings so everyone is prepared and on the same page. Marketing specific examples include briefs, status updates and project plans. Anything that creates a common understanding of the work for all involved. How would you rate yourself out of 10 for framing?

The I is for ‘Inquiry’. Make it clear everyone’s input matters by championing the unique value each person brings. Lean into inviting people’s input, like ask for feedback, use open questions, actively listen and avoid interrupting. Marketing specific ways to bring inquiry to life are brainstorm breakout groups that encourage quieter voices. Or campaign retrospectives, where all parties are given permission to honour their learnings and reflections. How would you rate yourself for inquiry?

The B is for ‘Bridge’. Psychological safety is relational. People need to feel connected -not just to colleagues, but to the purpose of their work. This galvanises them to care (or, bluntly give a sh*t). Practically, this pivots on rewarding work relationships. One-to-ones that go beyond work topics and opportunities, like socials for teammates to bond. Marketing specific “bridges” could see you delve into consumer research or exciting teams on a strategic long-term vision. How would you rate yourself for bridging?

If we want to cure marketing’s mental health crisis, it’s time we start taking psychological safety more seriously. Addressing it, in both big and small ways, we’re each inspired to “be the change you want to see”. The payoff is not just happier teams and greater life satisfaction, but more profit and better work.

Alice ter Haar is founder of Badass Unicorn, a training  consultancy serving teams at brands like Google and McDonald’s . She formerly spent 10 years as a marketer before demotion and redundancy led her to pursue a career in personal development.