Hate to say it, but it's that "isn't enough work coming in to keep everyone busy" that is driving the other stuff. 

When times get tough, you can't pick and choose your clients.  The market is saturated right now with those clients who have no idea how to 'build'.  Their construction education is from the tv.

Thing is, particularly with lessons learned during the downturn with uneducated clients looking to lowball, you learn to STFU and provide a proposal that matches what they are requesting.  Arguing that what they are asking for isn't going to get a permit has lost you work before.  Then you let the building department be the bad guy and tell them they need more.  And charge an additional service to provide this 'beyond the contracted scope' service.

As an Owner of the firm it's really nasty.  You choose between your business ethics and morals, or your staff.  I choose my staff for where my loyalty should be placed.  I recognize these sleazy clients aren't going to be 'repeat clients' so they aren't important.  Also note though I will treat the contractor with higher respect because they are probably in the same boat as I am; That has also brought in work with that contractor so I can have better clients down the road.  

Some clients, I will however identify as potential repeat ones and they are treated much different where I will take a loss on a project knowing they are a growing business.  

Does that help you with your perception?  Because your employer wants to keep you and the rest, he's forced to take on clients that in the heydays' he'd send running.  Now he has little choice unless he's willing to 'abuse' his staff... Several other firms do this staff abuse; Overtime, underpaid, part time, contract work, turnover, etc.  You become the one where he seems to have moral and ethical dysfunction because he's looking to keep his referrals happy as a firm... the staff abuse is actually a 'better' business model that I just don't have the moral flexibility to do.  So, I sacrifice bad clients instead.  

mightyaa - thank you very much for your viewpoint. I really do appreciate it. Unfortunately, my company isn't quite the same. The clients they chase down are the ones they always chase, good economy or bad. I've seen them pass up potential leads because they didn't want those particular projects. My firm could go after public jobs (schools in particular), but despite the fact that we have no work, my boss simply doesn't do it.

If I were in your shoes, I'd do exactly what you are doing because you put your big kid pants on and do what you must to keep your staff employed. It's the fact that my employer sees these clients as the type that they actually WANT that bothers me.

Mind if I ask what kind of work?

I know an architect that is like that.  His bread and butter is really the property management company.  So when a new tenant goes into one of their buildings, this architect is on the 'approved list' of architects they allow to do the tenant finish.  The point is, his 'contractual client' is not really the one he has to please. Who he has to please is the property management. 

And there also those folks who just have their comfort zones.  He may know how to land that kind of project and that kind of client. 

If he isn't pursuing work you want to do, I wouldn't wait around thinking it's going to change.  Find a job where you enjoy it.  I know my practice does a ton of work most architects, particularly the young ones, hate doing.

I don't much care for the change artist type attitude.  i appreciate what you're doing, and it's great that  you care about your employees and you're taking responsibility and all.  i just sort of think it might be useful to point out a different perspective.

people don't like working with people who keep charging them more.  it's difficult.  for example, a lot of times design fees along with construction costs are prorated into a lease agreement, so knowing what those costs are upfront is quite helpful.  if you know your design team is going to keep coming back with their hand open, it's difficult for the real estate team and the tenant's financial people to know how to set their rates.  everyone involved ends up getting shafted a bit, not just your client.  i understand you only do this for clients you don't expect to come back, but you're also building a reputation as a firm that attracts those sorts of clients.

i know it's difficult, and you have to bring clients in the door to keep the lights on.  i don't have any good answers or a better way of doing things.  i just think it's sad we're pushing to the bottom instead of offering better, more useful services for reasonable fees.  most of these people pay their lawyers, i don't see why they expect to get around paying a design team.

@MarvinOne: what you describe is not the norm, but it's also not uncommon. If you are as uncomfortable with your employer as your post indicates, then what else do you need to know? This is not the firm for you -- you should start looking for a new place to practice.

There can be serious mismatches in architecture - either with the school or with the employer.  Most of these are averted at the gate.  However, while there are some flaky interns, there are way more flaky employers.  Architects, and design professionals, do not conduct themselves with the same professionalism of many other white collar employees who dress up to go to work, work in Class A office space, have a steady stream of client or other revenues, enjoy decent salaries, and just aren't as fucking weird.  Therefore, if they are not business-like and do not understand things holistically, then that would include not understanding human resources issues.  Many a critical job have gone south when obtuse, ridiculous, and even lazy principals ask for too much in too little time or for not enough pay to find themselves with an empty project architect slot, and then have a job go from being in the black to being in the red.  I'm not blaming the employees.  I'm blaming the employers here.  However, employees sometimes become employers and replicate this behavior, just like dysfunctions in families that move down to the next generation.  The single biggest problem is that architecture, and the design professions, are staffed by people who are not professionals in demeanor, because half of the equation is being an artist, who tend to be mercurial, overly emotional, and flaky.  I've seen perfectly good people leave because of the state of upheaval and flakiness, even when times were good.

Agreed.

I agree too.  

Thank you - all of you - for your thoughts on this topic. I didn't fill in all the voids in my original post since this is out there on the internet. To answer a couple of questions, my current employer works mostly in commercial and industrial. The other firms I've worked at with the same issues have done educational and healthcare.

The reason I ask for your viewpoint is that 3/5 firms I've worked for have been like this. I've become very unhappy, this deeply affects my personal relationships and my spouse has started questioning if it's me that's the problem or my company - therefore I question too. I'm not the best employee anymore because I am simply defeated and bored. That's not at all who I want to be and I need to find a place where I feel like a productive member of society again - I'd love if that was architecture but it might not be.

Ultimately what I've learned from you is that there are a bunch of firms that are exactly like where I'm at and a bunch that aren't. I do try to interview them instead of them interviewing me - but when you've been unemployed for several months, you tend to take the one architecture job that's offered to you knowing it's not a good fit and that's where I've landed. It's just been a way to get a paycheck and some IDP hours, along the way I've learned what NOT to do.

Quizzical - yep - this is certainly NOT the place for me, but two years of sending resumes hasn't landed me one interview. I've dropped them off personally, followed up via phone, changed my resume format 3 times but have nothing. I do tend to get positive feedback on my resume format, it catches their eye, they just don't have anything available.

If anyone else has some added thoughts - I'd appreciate it. Also, I know several on these forums can be down right mean and I'd like to thank you for not belittling my questions and concerns. There is quite a bit of emotion behind this concern and I'm really struggling with some life changing choices right now. What I need is courteous feedback and I appreciate that you've all done that.