Mental Health & Wellbeing in The Film & TV Industry: It needs to be improved now

When you watch a new Film or episodic Television Series, you probably don’t think about the people involved in the making of it and the incredible amount of working hours and effort they put in. Now, a report published by the Film & TV Charity, called ‘Looking Glass ‘21’, details research regarding a mental health crisis in the respective Industry. The report was originally conceived in 2019, and then re-run 2 years later by the Film & TV Charity’s Partner, Brightpurpose in Summer 2021 to record and assess changes during the Covid-19 pandemic. Looking Glass ‘21’s objective is to create a first set of metrics in the hopes to initiate long-term change in the Industry, as well as pose new questions related to its prevalence and the mental health repercussions of racial harrassment and discrimination in the Industry.

Okay results – for now

The overall results of the report identify that although we’re coming out of a global pandemic and the related wellbeing and mental health changes within Society and Industry, the wellbeing score for the Film & TV Workforce has remained just slightly the same (no better, no worse). The percentage score for those who said their overall mental health was currently ‘good’ or ‘very good’ has also kept stable. There appears to be an understanding of the new changes the industry has started taking towards mental health, followed by hopeful optimism that things will finally start looking up.

A real mental health crisis in the Film & TV Industry

Despite warmly encouraging results, there are definitely some troubling insights in the Report. Key issues causing such mental health distress include incredibly longer working hours, with some working 50-60 hours a week, lack of adequate line management as the demand for more people encourages early promotion and results in survival strategies of impersonation and improvisation and working under Covid safety protocols (affecting the ability for workers to carry out their job properly).

Other equally important issues are bullying, racism and harassment, with 4 in 10 (39%) of Black, Asian and minority ethnic respondents experiencing racial harassment or discrimination (which, like all forms of harassment and discrimination relating to a protected characteristic, are illegal) and the presence of a culture where stigmas surrounding mental health were present. This means that if workers were experiencing a mental health challenge, they had fear of judgement and if they did tell someone, only ¼ of respondents revealed the situation got better as a result.

In the long run

These issues pose a real risk of driving people away from the industry, with the ramification of productions weakening and the industry changing for the worse. At such an important time when the demand for more people in the industry is at an all time high, and more entertainment content is demanded, mental health concerns are the biggest barrier for the industry to thrive. In 2019, it was found that 63% had considered leaving the industry due to mental health concerns, but the 2021 data showed that 65% had considered leaving in the past year; and this rose to a shocking 74% of disabled respondents.

A personal opinion

With the facts out of the way, it feels appropriate to finally say that all the issues the Film & TV Industry workers are facing are just heartbreaking. Thinking about the many movies & TV episodes watched to date, knowing that crew members are suffering behind the scenes just makes me want to appreciate the content I enjoy with a passion even more. One thing is for sure, mental health & wellbeing is important, and in the Film & TV Industry, it needs to be improved now. The positive end note is that those workers do feel the industry is beginning to talk more about mental health, but have yet to see changes and are still sceptical about whether the majority of the industry are ever really going to take actions, or just talk about it and do nothing.

Can we help?

If you’re still reading this, we imagine you feel you want to do something to help those overworked, depleted workers and change things around for the better. No matter what industry you work in, mental health is important everywhere and just like with physical health, we can sometimes feel great, and sometimes feel bad.

One of the simplest things which can make a big change is to treat all with respect and kindness no matter who they are or where they come from. If someone or something is affecting your mental health, seek help straight away and don’t be afraid to speak out.

More specifically about actions being taken in the Industry, ScreenSkills in partnership with the Film & TV Charity have produced a new framework called ‘Mental health training: guidance for employers’, which offers to support Employers in the Film & TV Sector with mental health training and guidance. BECTU (The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union) has launched a welfare policy on mental health & wellbeing for companies working in the Sector. The new policy is a result of BECTU members’ desire for clear guidance addressing stress and mental health challenges faced by workers in the industry.

Also, the Royal Television Society (RTS) is hosting a special Zoom Webinar moderated by Chief Executive of Media Business Insight, Conor Dignam, on Thursday 3rd March, 2022 from 1:30pm – 2:30pm, which will feature a special panel session with the Film & TV Charity’s CEO Alex Pumfrey, who will be discussing how the Looking Glass ‘21 acts as a temperature check for the Industry as it emerges from the Covid-19 global pandemic. He will also be joined by head of BECTU, Philippa Childs, Banijay CEO, Lucinda Hicks, and Junior Production Manager at Dragonfly, Alicia Dalrymple.