The Burnout Problem in Architecture
Date Posted: April 7, 2022
Posted In: Discussion,
From Architect Magazine: Josh Mings, AIA, has vivid memories of how the modern architecture of Columbus, Ind., shaped his childhood. He wandered the stacks at the I.M. Pei–designed Cleo Rogers Memorial Library; ran into the concrete columns placed smack in the middle of the hallways at Fodrea Community School while rushing to class; and marveled at the Brutalist design of the city’s Southside Elementary. There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to create awe-inspiring structures, too—he wanted to become an architect.
Mings, who has been practicing for 10 years, already had the feeling that he was shouldering an unsustainable workload at a housing firm when the pandemic hit. He’s now taking a leave of absence to focus on his health in the wake of weight-loss surgery that he underwent in August 2020, and he feels unwilling to compromise on work/life balance in a future position. His 60- to 70-hour workweeks were negatively impacting both his physical and mental health.
“By and large in housing, clients demand aggressive scheduling so that they can get the most return on investment,” Mings says. “That causes principals that are chasing the work to agree to deadlines that aren’t suitable to the practice of architecture and actively burn out project architects, staff architects, and emerging professionals—which leads to a profession that cannot sustain itself and damages the mental health of those within it.”
He adds, “We now have to face project timelines that are even more aggressive and unsustainable due to the issues with global supply chain and construction market pricing.”
Architecture is far from the only industry currently facing upheaval. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs in December 2021, and a September 2021 study from the Harvard Business Review found that resignation rates up to that point were highest among midcareer employees (those between 30 and 45). Wide swaths of workers are being spurred to reconsider their priorities.
Within architecture, calls to organize for better working conditions—like the unionization push at SHoP Architects at the end of 2021—are initiating honest conversations about long hours, compensation, and a lack of diversity that makes it challenging for architects of color to feel accepted. The murder of George Floyd in May 2020 and the racial reckoning it instigated across American culture only added a further breaking point in terms of stress for many architects of color.
The crisis is real, and it’s supported by data. Monograph, a company that makes project management software for architects, surveyed 225 architects in 2021: 96.9% reported that they were experiencing some form of burnout.