• by Dan Gearing , Yesterday

There’s a famous Bill Bernbach saying that’s been on replay in my head for a while: a principle isn’t a principle until it costs you money.

I head out on parental leave in a few weeks just as one of our leaders, Jackie, returns from hers. Timing-wise, it’s not exactly ideal. But I guess it never is. We’re a young agency, hungry to put talent first and continue to create culture-defining work for our partners. We’re navigating growth, change, and a million moving parts. It’s a true labor of love. 

As a people-first organization, it’s moments like parental leave where you have to put your money where your mouth is.

Father’s Day seemed like the right time to reflect on what it looks like to build a company with people at its center, especially in an industry (and broader workplace culture) where individuals increasingly feel disposable. 

People, Not Process

When we started No Problem, we wanted to do things differently, not with some grand manifesto, but by building a place that felt good to work in. We loved agency life when it was at its best: the camaraderie, the creative energy, the lols. But over time, we also saw how those things got eroded: by burnout, by bureaucracy, by environments that valued billable hours more than brains or well-being.

We knew that if you want the best out of talented people, you need to put them in the right conditions. And those conditions start with trust, support, and policies that reflect real life, not rote HR boilerplates.

One of our founding clients told us that “Working with No Problem feels like working with people, not a company.” It was a passing comment, but it felt good. Affirmation of the culture we are building.  

Parental Leave: Our Approach

Since launching No Problem, we’ve had a few No Problem babies. With each one, we’ve had to ask: how do we balance the needs of the business with what we believe is fair, human, and right? 

Here’s where we’ve landed so far: Primary caregivers get 6 months leave, and secondary caregivers get 2 months. Plus we're fully remote, which eases the return to work as there are no long commutes or office reentry shock.

We’re not pretending it’s perfect. We’d love to offer equal time to both parents and hope to get there as the business matures. That said, it feels good as a small, independent creative company to be able to compete with some of the more progressive companies in the U.S. media, entertainment, and agency worlds.

Context is everything

We know that people who feel fully supported are able to show up better at work. It’s a no-brainer. You can't expect brilliance from people if the culture around them is broken.

Just ask Manchester United fans. Sometimes it’s not the player, it’s the system. The once deflated Antony, Rashford and McTominay look like completely different players in their new environments, now that the shackles are off. 

I’m aware that parental leave is hardly a vacation. We had our first kid during COVID, and our next will arrive while we’re still displaced by the LA fires. Looking after a newborn is hard, even without the existential threat of global pandemics and natural disasters. But taking the time to support the family in those first few weeks is both a privilege and a joy. Counterintuitively, it will be beneficial to the business too. I will return with new experiences under my belt, greater empathy, and an (albeit heavily caffeine-fueled) excitement and hunger to get back in.

Looking Ahead

I’d love to hear from others in our industry about how they’re approaching this. What’s working, what’s evolving, what creative ideas are out there that are actually making the workplace work for people?

A recent report stated that over half of employees at major holding companies are considering leaving. That’s not just a stat; it’s a siren. The people in our industry are tired of being treated like cogs. Of being told that “the work” matters most, while their lives are expected to fit around it.

It doesn’t have to be this way. We can build companies where principles aren’t just printed on the walls but are lived. Even when it costs us something. Especially when it does.