I hope that everyone had a good time with the time off and relaxing with their families. 

It was that time of year again and I was getting ready to pay my annual registration payment when I came across this webinar . There are some interesting findings by the ARB and I think that it is something that is generally not talked about or discussed in the field of architecture. I will say that I was somewhat surprised at what was being uncovered.

This webinar was the result of a ‘deep dive’ into the workplace culture in our profession, it was conducted by the ARB with Thinks Insight. I didn’t even realise that there was any kind of survey being conducted as it might have been good to see the type of questions that were being asked. 

A lot of serious issues have been uncovered. 41% of architects reported experiencing harassment and bullying. That is a big part of the profession and it gets worse when we talk about discrimination (33%) and sexual misconduct (10%), with women, ethnic minorities, and those with disabilities being hit the hardest.

Long hours are supposed to be part of the norm, but overwork and burnout comes at a cost? 63% feel exploited for their passion, with workload pressure compromising not only personal well-being but also the quality of work and ethical standards.

There was also a point about power imbalances within practices and lack of diversity.  

There are probably a lot more issues but the main concern that came from this is how reluctant employees are to report the problems. A third of professionals fear their concerns won’t be taken seriously, and for early-career architects, that number jumps to 42%.

The ARB is calling for big changes and with the new code of conduct it is not surprising that they want better leadership training, ethical codes, and industry-wide debates on things like “long hours for low pay.” But even they admit, their powers are limited and real change has to come from within the industry, in essence from all of us.

It will be good to talk about this as I’m sure this is something that is experienced by many but is probably brushed under the carpet, what do you think?