Archinect - Features

Archinect's 2024 Mental Health Survey Results: 11 Key Takeaways

2024-11-21T12:01:00-05:00

On October 10th, we marked World Mental Health Day by launching Archinect's 2024 Mental Health Survey. Over 120 people participated, sharing their experiences of the past year, where mental health issues are arising from, and what steps they are taking to improve their own mental health.

This year’s survey results reveal both progress and persistent challenges. While 2023 highlighted an increasing awareness and openness about mental health, the 2024 findings emphasize a continued struggle with stressors such as workload, compensation, and burnout. Notably, the stigma around mental health discussions has further diminished, with many participants reporting improved comfort in seeking support. However, the data also underscores significant gaps in institutional resources and support systems.

Compared to last year, the community shows incremental improvements in mental health metrics, with a higher proportion of respondents ranking their mental health above average. Yet, the ongoing pr...

Being Laid off Is Tough; So Is Waiting To Be

2024-08-26T08:00:00-04:00

Findings from our recent Archinect Business Survey suggest that many architecture employees do not feel secure in their current roles. For those facing the looming prospect of layoffs in the coming weeks or months, the emotional strain can be as taxing as that experienced by those who have already lost their jobs. What can employees and employers alike do to mitigate such anxiety?

10 Tips for Overcoming and Preventing Burnout in Architecture

2024-08-01T12:30:00-04:00

If you’re experiencing burnout in your architecture role, you’re likely not alone. In 2023, Archinect’s Mental Health Survey found burnout to be a common theme among those who told us they were experiencing stress at work. Our community has also raised the issue among themselves, with an Archinect Forum post titled ‘Burnout Check-In’ prompting almost 100 comments by users describing their own experiences.

Building on our previous feature articles on the subject, which focused on both the architecture work culture and architecture workplace, we have assembled below a series of tips for those currently experiencing and seeking to overcome burnout in their work setting.

Do you have advice for overcoming burnout beyond those set out below? Let us know in the comments.

What To Do If You Hate Your Architecture Job

2024-06-21T13:02:00-04:00

Every architecture worker will, at some point, endure a period of stress or anxiety in the workplace. Sometimes, these feelings can be fleeting, caused by an exceptionally short project deadline, a difficult client, or even a legal dispute. If you find yourself actively hating your architecture job over a prolonged period, however, it may be time to take action. While your first instinct may be to seek a new job in a new firm, this is not always necessary, or even helpful. Rather, there may be steps you can take that can improve your experience and circumstances within your current workplace. Below, we offer our suggestions.

Do you have advice for colleagues stressed or anxious about their jobs beyond those set out below? Let us know in the comments.

Archinect's 2023 Mental Health Survey Results

2023-10-10T15:45:00-04:00

To create a space that discusses and shares insights on mental health within the industry, Archinect recently conducted our latest Mental Health survey to better understand how our community has navigated the stressors inherent to the architecture industry. On this October 10th, World Mental Health Day, we share the results of this survey.

Architecture Community Experiences a Noticeable Impact on Mental Health Since Pandemic

2020-06-15T09:00:00-04:00

The results of Archinect’s COVID-19 Mental Health Survey highlight the community’s struggles with the emotional impacts of the health crisis in some striking detail and show, generally speaking, that members of the architecture community have had a difficult time with the many challenges brought forth by the pandemic.

The Importance of Physical Fitness in Mental Performance

2019-07-30T12:20:00-04:00

We’ve talked about burnout, fatigue, and overwork, all things that take a toll on the mind. But how might one increase mental stamina, counteracting this effect? When all of our efforts to be efficient time managers is overcome by a long workday, we will need that extra bandwidth for optimum focus and performance. If our physical fitness is lacking our mental fitness will also. Intellectual execution tends to be a priority for most creative professionals and in realizing that desire, one would do well to embrace the well being of their physical body. After all, it is what houses your most prized possession — your brain. Let’s look at some ways this relationship manifests within us.

Burnout, Fatigue and the Architecture Workplace

2019-07-19T11:57:00-04:00

With the discussion on burnout growing, it’s a natural progression to dive deeper into some of its related characteristics. Fatigue is an obvious symptom of overwork and presents a daunting threat to creativity, productivity, and most importantly, mental health. With architecture’s notoriousness with long hours, rigorous (often unnecessary) deadlines, tiredness and fatigue present very real roadblocks to the workforce. What can firms do to mitigate this risk? It’s worth an exploration.

How Overwork and Anxiety Led Architect Ben Channon to Focus on Designing for Happiness

2018-11-08T12:00:00-05:00

Architect Ben Channon was finishing up his architectural qualifications when he began to realize the toll it was taking on his mental health. Overcome by anxiety, and living in a small shared flat, he was gripped by questions of why some buildings make us happy, while others do not. "At the end of the day, our environment affects us, whatever type of building it is," Channon says. His curiosity led him down a path investigating the links between architecture and well-being. Channon's findings have culminated in the recent book, Happy by Design, where he asserts that the design of buildings can have large effects on the happiness of its inhabitants and offers advice on how to design spaces that better serve its users.

Screen/Print #36: Harvard Design Magazine's "Well, Well, Well"

2015-08-14T10:32:00-04:00

“Well, Well, Well”, the fortieth issue from the Harvard Design Magazine, explores the tricky business of designing for health, and provokes considerations on the flip-side of neglecting to do so.