MARCH | TRENDING
Chris Macmeikan,
music director,
Continental
Drifts:
How do you handle event hours being
long/late for staff during events? Is
there a way to mitigate this?
Well, all my staff do eight hour shifts
generally, but myself and many other
types who run stuff work crazy long
hours. I love what I do, so it’s kind of
cool. As every person reading this
knows, sometimes things can take
much longer than you imagine, and I
think it’s crucial that those in charge
actually thank and care for their
staff, and if they worked too long give
them time off to mitigate. I see so
many companies that don’t which is
upsetting, and many employers that
think that because they do mad hours
everyone else should, which is totally
wrong.
What do you do to allow for flexibility
for staff, is this on an adhoc basis?
It is, but after 25 years we have to
look for the signs that staff are going
to blow themselves up. It’s really
important to see that, but some crew
are young and super dedicated, and
need removing from their shifts with
a crowbar. In the last few years with
the help of people like Help Musicians
and mags like yours we’re really on
the lookout for signs of physical and
mental distress. As mentioned, we run
a time off in lieu system.
Do you have any anecdotes about
work life balance successes or indeed
failures?
I actually thrive on what I do, some
people will ask me if it’s a ‘job’ at all!
I’ve literally spent my whole life doing
this late-night gigs and touring, so I’m
used to this, but with a family the true
hero is the team keeping the house
16
together so I can stay in that field –
kids throw the whole operation in the
air. There are some gigs that literally
can leave you punch drunk from sound
and exertion. I once fell asleep for a
power nap beneath some speakers
at Glasto and was out for nearly 10
hours, invisible, I slept through a whole
day of sound! Wasn’t too popular
when I arose from under the stage.
It’s really hard for the English as we
never had a culture of siestas, but
nowadays without at least a power nap
somewhere I can’t make it all night, I’m
too old!
Becci Thomson,
head of business
development, eve:
Do you have any anecdotes about
work life balance successes or indeed
failures?
Because we work in a fun industry
it’s easy for stress and burn out to go
under the radar and people often don’t
realise they’re burning out. At our
recent Workshops & Workouts event,
we had overwhelming feedback on
how nice it was to have an industry
event that didn’t involve alcohol, where
they learned something new, were able
to reset.
In an industry that is so often ‘on’, how
do you switch ‘off’?
I walk to all my meetings; our venues
are close so it’s good to get out in the
open. I also use the ClassPass app
which allows me to use any gym and
love the 1Rebel Classes, which is 45
minutes of pure grit and hard work
that lets me clear my head. We have
a great team and friendships that are
more than just work based so we will
often go for drinks after work or see
each other at weekends.