1 September 2022 · By Ella Jessel

An AJ/AR survey reveals how the pandemic has affected those working in architecture, as well as revealing a generational divide between architectural assistants and more senior staff

T he Covid-19 pandemic was a watershed moment for the workplace, fundamentally shifting how people work – and the architecture sector has been no exception.

Our snapshot survey, completed by 717 UK respondents, asked about their work lives during the previous 12 months. Its results reveal changes to working practice as well as frustrations over low pay and unpaid overtime.

The survey was conducted by the Architects’ Journal and the Architectural Review as part of the W Prog­ramme, which promotes equality and diversity in the profession.  Jules Allen, of the University of Cambridge Centre for Gender Studies, provided statistical insight and analysis.

It found that BAME employees were less likely than white employees to have had a pay rise in the past 12 months, and that among all those working in architecture, architectural assistants were the least likely to have received a raise.

This generational divide played out in many parts of the survey, with senior workers in general more satisfied than junior employees.

The results also show a shift away from traditional working models, with 72 per cent of respondents now having some form of flexible working arrangement. This is in line with recent Office of National Statistics analysis, which found the number of people homeworking doubled during the pandemic to 10 million.

BAME employees were less likely than white employees to have had a pay rise

In February, despite the end of government guidance to work from home, eight out of 10 workers said they planned to continue to do some form of hybrid working, combining office and home.

With offices and building sites forced to close during the lockdowns, practices had to allow staff to work from home, and set up remote infrastructure. But while some architects have flourished under this long-craved flexibility, for others it has come with huge challenges.

This disparity of experiences across genders and job roles is captured by the survey responses, which provide an interesting insight into who flexible working policies are working for and why.

This ongoing dissatisfaction is disappointing, says Paul Chappell, of architectural recruiter 9B Careers. But he adds that the architectural jobs market is still extremely busy. ‘This has put architects in the unusual situation of being able to negotiate far more preferential terms than might previously have been possible,’ he says.

To explore whether practices had brought in lasting changes to working culture, the survey asked questions about current flexible policies. ‘Flexible working’ is an umbrella term for a wide variety of arrangements, from part time or compressed hours to working from home, job shares and flexitime, where employees choose the start and end time of their work day.

Overall, 72 per cent of respondents said they used at least one form of flexible working, with the most popular options being  ‘regular working from home’ (53 per cent), and flexitime (16 per cent). A larger percentage of women than men worked part time (18 per cent compared with 7 per cent), and more worked regularly from home (60 per cent of women; 51 per cent of men).

The overall preferred working pattern of most respondents was a 50/50 split between remote and the studio, but a close second was ‘working predominantly in the office’. Clearly some flexibility was important, as only 4 per cent of respondents wanted to work only in the office.

Over half (54 per cent) said they felt quality of communication was better when working in the office. However, the quality of meetings with hybrid working was mixed, with 30 per cent satisfied and 27 per cent dissatisfied. Some survey respondents said their practices had ended flexible policies as soon as the pandemic ended while others said the approach to hybrid or home working was inconsistent. ‘Employees have no say, and often a memo is sent out at short notice changing the number of days we are to WFH or work from studio,’ said one.

Others commented that senior staff were allowed to work from home while junior staff were told to come in. ‘It is disingenuous for senior practice members to ignore the fact junior staff are likely living further from offices due to high cost of housing (and lower salaries in relative terms) than they are,’ said one BAME man.There was also some concern over the impact working from home was having on career progression. Overall, 30 per cent said it had slightly worsened through working from home. Over half of architectural assistants and 38 per cent of architects felt it had slightly or significantly worsened. This compares with 28 per cent of directors and 30 per cent of partners.

‘There’s no ability to learn from listening in on conversations,’ said one architectural assistant, while another said they had struggled with the reduced number of ‘informal interactions while making a cup of tea’.

Slightly more women than men felt that working from home had significantly or slightly improved their ability to learn or progress. One explained remote working had led to her being included in far more senior meetings than when she was in the office.

The survey also showed that BAME employees felt working from home had improved their ability to learn or progress slightly more than white employees.

‘People need thoughtful mentorship and experience,’ said one BAME respondent. ‘Working from home has made it harder to pretend that happens automatically by just being around work that’s happening.’

Chappell says the pandemic has shown that practices are able to offer hybrid working and, in general, staff welcome this ‘new-found freedom and flexibility’. However, there are also conflicts between employers and employees.

He adds: ‘Most managers appear to have found their role harder with teams working remotely and, therefore, less productive. For junior staff, there is a sense that they can achieve their individual role working remotely but the greater loss of not working as a team in a studio environment is substantial, and most practices are keen to return, as much as possible, to this traditional way of operating.’

As for work-life balance, generally respondents were satisfied overall, though men were more satisfied than women (51 per cent compared with 43 per cent), and senior employees were more satisfied than younger staff.

Overtime remains a persistent problem, particularly for architectural assistants (Part 1 and Part 2). More than half (53 per cent) said they were dissatisfied with their employer’s policy. This reflects a growing frustration in recent years over ‘exploitation’ of architectural assistants.

‘I work overtime but don’t get paid to do so,’ said one respondent. ‘I’m usually forced to do so with little choice. Refusal is sometimes accommodated but this can come with pressure from management to work later another time.’

Another added: ‘On the whole, the company have listened to me regarding overtime and have been accommodating. I push very hard on only working my contracted hours where I can.’

The survey revealed the average salary for each category of respondents. In the case of architectural assistants, 41 per cent said they were paid between £25-30,000 a year, with the next highest percentage falling into the lower bracket of £20-25,000. For architects, the most common pay bracket was between £35,000 and £40,000 a year (22 per cent).

Just over half of employees surveyed had received a pay increase in the past 12 months, but this varied depending on job title. While 61 per cent of architects had a raise, only 47 per cent of architectural assistants had. Associate was the job title with the highest proportion of pay increases, at 67 per cent.

The survey also revealed that a smaller percentage of BAME employees than white employees had received a pay rise, 45 per cent compared with 55 per cent.

The survey also revealed that architectural assistants are most likely to have taken time off for stress, with a quarter of those surveyed saying they had taken time off in their current role for this reason.

Charlie Edmonds, co-founder of campaign group Future Architects Front, says the survey ‘paints a bleak picture for architectural workers’ and highlights the exploitative conditions that dominate architectural practice.

‘This is perhaps most evident in the findings that junior and BAME workers are least likely to have received raises in the past year – which amounts to a real-terms pay cut when adjusted for inflation,’ he says. He adds that the real-terms pay cuts in architecture have been directed towards those in the most vulnerable economic positions.

He adds: ‘The consequences of this precarity may be revealed through the findings that junior and BAME architectural workers are most likely to be impacted by stress, though this is undoubtedly exacerbated by the profession’s dependence on unpaid overtime. Overall, the survey paints a bleak picture for architectural workers, particularly if they aren’t white.’

Tags covid-19 flexible working home working survey Working culture

Sign in or Register a new account to join the discussion.

We use cookies to personalize and improve your experience on our site. Visit our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy to learn more. You can opt out of some cookies by adjusting your browser settings. More information on how to do this can be found in the cookie policy. By using our site, you agree to our use of cookies.