The recent move to Work From Home (WFH) has been a radical change for many professionals. Archinect reached out to its global community to learn how things have been going for architects and designers across the industry. We'll be providing focused insights from our findings. For this piece we're going to look at some of the core challenges many have expressed regarding this shift.
From our results, the main challenges appear to be:
Naturally, there are many challenges that go beyond those listed here, but these make up the core of feedback we've uncovered from practicing professional. Let's dive into each one of these and see what our colleagues have to say.
A big concern when it comes to remote work is often one of disconnectedness and loneliness. Architecture is a collaborative practice, and the face-to-face interactions had within the studio are often key in the production of good design. Recreating that studio culture, keeping the team connected and engaged, and combating loneliness while working at home can be a stumbling block for many professionals. Here is some of what our community had to say regarding this challenge:
"The biggest challenge is recreating the ‘accidental’ conversations that happen in an office. Remote meetings tend to be more intentional."
"Communication has been difficult."
"It's a huge benefit to be with family in a time of crisis and not have to be put in harms way commuting on mass transit to get to work. The biggest challenge is staying in touch and making sure no one feels isolated or not connected."
"It feels so isolating and lonely since I am used to collaboration and interaction in the office."
"Stressful, but working ok. Keeping culture is difficult."
This profession is based heavily on mentorship and apprenticeship. Whether that is a one-on-one meetings, through observation, or from larger education-based meetings, the in-person interaction with a mentor has been an important component in the growth of many professionals. A regular point brought up in regards to remote work is that the remote worker needs to be able to operate through self-guidance, not requiring much supervision. For more junior staff, this can be challenging, when the ins, outs, and foundations of practice are still being learned. This arose as some of the challenges posed by professionals:
"We're only 2 days in. I already feel a bit claustrophobic. As for the job itself, I believe it will be difficult to lead interns and juniors into being as productive. I work in a small team, and mostly within Rhino - I imagine people working in large Revit files will experience some trouble with the overloaded servers. Mostly I worry projects will halt and people will have to be laid off."
"I’ve taken advantage of working remotely before when sick, or other issues have kept me home so the transition isn’t too hard on me. Challenges for me will probably be the face-to-face mentorship and educational opportunities. Benefits are 10-second commute, more time with my family, greater ability to focus without distractions."
"Older staff who do not utilize digital means of communications and mark-ups are finding it difficult to instruct. Those same staff aren't Revit savvy either, so they rely on their physical, living-document-like drawing sets to communicate."
Aside from the personal obstacles many are working through, architectural staff from some firms have expressed feelings of stress and anxiety due to the lack of direction from their leadership. This is an important point. In a time like this, many are on edge, especially those whose livelihood are at stake. Transparent leadership, keeping staff in the loop, and boldly leading one's team make a profound impact on morale and peace of mind:
"It’s been difficult because we haven’t had clear communication from our firm leaders. We all know that these times are unprecedented, but we’ve been given delayed or mixed messages about what to do."
"It’s still a total free for all, and we’ve been scrambling with unsuccessful technical troubleshooting. We haven’t (yet) figured out the tech we need to enable this. Sadly not the most technically savvy leadership, and not the most willing to embrace technology. If we don’t find workable solutions I am confident that we will not be allowed or able to continue working remotely."
Technology is an obvious necessity when working from home. As such, many who lack the proper technological tools have experienced some set-backs. Connected to the previous point, staff look to leadership for provision and guidance when it comes to being empowered to do their work successfully. Many firms have purchased additional hardware and have been working to resolve the technological limitations that arise. But, nevertheless, some roadblocks still remain for some:
"Occasional working remotely wasn't a problem but all of a sudden 40 people remote was a weight on the network that we are having to deal with."
"It's been somewhat difficult. I don't have the same hardware and remote desktop has a lag. Already feeling isolated. The flexibility is nice, but the uncertainty of the pandemic curbs a lot of the positives to working from home."
Perhaps one of the more apparent obstacles in regards to remote work, the difference in home office set-up in comparison to the traditional office set-up can become a big area of hindrance. Things like ergonomic comfort come into play if the home doesn't hold the proper components available at the office. Moreover, with many juggling kids home from school, the distractions can build, causing a hit to focus and productivity. When working from home, managing one's environment becomes an unavoidable issue to address:
"My home office has brought a lack of focus, and also less ergonomic conditions."
"What I am not accustomed to is working alongside my husband and two kids. We’ve created three “workspaces" at our house — two are being used for my kids’ school, and the other for my husband’s work which requires endless phone calls."
"The studio/office is a dedicated place (a shrine) for creative practice and business, this is hard to achieve on your kitchen table at home."
"A little tough getting a productive workflow, but overall not bad. I’m being about ~80% as effective as I would be in the office."
Despite these challenges, many have expressed positivity in their remote work experience. Challenges can be overcome, and the good news is that many have overcome those listed here. The work practiced in architecture is one of creative problem solving, something many professionals have become quite good at. Perhaps, those cultivated powers can be applied to some of the obstacles associated with remote work during this unprecedented time.
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33 Comments
I've debated sharing this, but now seems like the right time, especially when it comes to productivity. Look at Focusmate, my partner has been using this for the past six months, and she has fully endorsed the tool. She works from home. I can see using this quite easily.
I know the header image is a metaphor, but the thing I'm struggling with the most right now is literally that my rock gym is closed.
Be glad, those holds are filthy on a good day. Not to mention the membership was likely more expensive than the value it provided. (which is why we let ours lapse...)
Came here for climbing stuff too. My gym bag is still sitting near the door... waiting patiently.
Strong disagree there, Petey. Climbing has been my main non-cardio workout and my main source of socializing for the past 4 years. I spent my lunch yesterday looking at hangboards...
I'm on Tdud's side with this one... also because my gym runs a distillery so it often smells of sweet sweet maltyness + chalk.
You misunderstand me, I think. I asked many of my friends (climbers, all) what they felt was a fair cost for a climbing session. We then took that dollar value and mathed it into the cost they were paying. Most of them would have had to go every day (or more) for it to be worth what they thought. In reality they were paying 2x3 times what they thought it was worth.
I'm not in any way denigrating the validity or greatness of a workout at a climbing gym, they're some of the best facilities on the planet, and generally run by cool folks. They just cost so FUCKING MUCH.
yum.
I'm also not telling you how to spend your money.
$500/year for my membership... and they are open t'il 11pm. That's 500 frozen canadian loonies... so that's what, 400 freedom dollars for the US folks? $15 per day for bouldering for non-members, so once a week is all it takes to break even. Bonus that my office covers half my gym membership dues too.
Non, that's a far cry from the gyms around here. 957 a year. And my math was never comparing the year price to the day pass price, it was comparing the ACTUAL price to the cost people thought it was worth to them on their own. I found out that none of the people I asked had ever even thought about how the price they paid (because it was the only gym they wanted to visit) compared to the price they thought it was WORTH.
Basically the gyms here price themselves according to the price the tech workers can afford because they can. The rest of us either suck it up or climb outside when we can.
Good points. There is a new gym that opened up right next to a large tech and aerospace commercial area here and day passes are $25 before equipment rental.
I don't begrudge them their pricing, they have mortgages to pay on those massive buildings they buy or build, and they have the right to ask whatever they feel they can so they can make a profit. I'm moping about and complaining because I really like the gym, love the people, but cannot, in good conscience, spend that kind of cash on a workout that I can get for much, much less, albeit with greater physical effort on my part.
That's why I go to the dirtbag bouldering gym instead of the shiny new RockPlex that the techbros love. I think my memebership this year was around $550, and it includes workshops + yoga.
As an on-again off-again climber since age 11 I have a love/hate relationship with the recent emergence of climbing as the hip new workout. On one hand, there are more gyms than ever and the attention is pushing the sport in very exciting directions ('Free Solo'! Olympic Climbing!), but on the other hand shit is getting overpriced and overcrowded and my favorite walls are filling up with privileged bros more interested in getting a good Instagram shot than finding their zen.
(Sorry for hijacking the comments. Perhaps this could be a separate thread?)
Nah, I'm enjoying this. I came into climbing late, at age 28, and found that I was more comfortable with the trad ethos than the sport or boulder ethos. I'm not much of an earn your dues kinda guy, but the idea of climbing as vertical hiking with a spiritual aspect and a healthy respect of nature really appealed to me. The smaller crowds were also a perk. I top out at 5.8 outside, but that's fine with me, as there's so much good trad at 5.7 and lower and following trad above 5.8 is a real treat.
also moving away from this post's topic, but Sneaky, are the grades for outdoor stuff comparable to interior top/rope & lead walls? In my prime... back when I went 3 times a week (that's also 50lbs less and one kid ago), I could give the 5.11 a run for their money.
In general, no. I have climbed 5.10a/b outside, and the 5.11s in the gym are easier by a lot. YMMV.
Also a totally different experience from trad. Sometimes when I'm placing a tricky piece of gear I may hang for a few minutes. Sport clipping should take less than a second.
Makes sense. Thanks.
Yeah I usually lose 2-3 grades outside, vs the gym. I'm a consistent V6-V7 climber in a gym. Barely scending V4s in the wild.
I'm not much of a trad climber (I've only led sport routes, and only on routes I'm very comfortable on. 5.7-8's ), but I have mad respect for the effort! I love the "..spiritual aspect and a healthy respect of nature" element but I gotta get over some self-trust hangups.
You are all making me miss climbing. I only briefly got into it during school at the university's climbing wall (included in the cost of tuition ... so outrageously high). But most of the buddies I climbed with have all gone to separate corners of the country and I haven't devoted any effort to get back into it. I would like to be in that type of shape again though. Every time I clean out the garage I find my bag with shoes, chalk, harness, etc. and I think I should find some new climbing friends ... then I usually go ride my bike.
I got back into it after my last big breakup (started climbing as a kid but didn't keep up with it much post-college). I did kind of a life-reboot (long story) and found a climbing Meetup group, which became my main offline social circle.
Maybe try a meetup? Not sure if that's still a popular thing.
Most of my friends where I am now are a result of climbing in some way shape or form. Diverse people, architects, doctors, students, researchers, engineers, tech, retail, etc. Keeps me young, as I am the oldest of my friends bu a good 5 years or so. It's really interesting when I find myself talking to someone in their early twenties, but with a common love of climbing we have somewhere to find commonalities.
E_A, most climbers I have met (with the exception of one or two) are open, welcoming, and warm people. They love enthusiasm, and would welcome you in a heartbeat. Get thee to a climbing area! If you showed up to a local crag with shoes and a smile, I bet you'd make a few lifelong friends. Best to bring food or beer, just to be sure.
Biggest challenge in the next few weeks will be to procure work.
So far, two weeks in, I feel like my team is being even more productive and communicating better! We are using MS Teams to chat and do screen shares on calls and frankly it's going really well. Plus, I get to walk my dog for 20 minutes after lunch! I honestly am enjoying this a lot.
Same here Donna! I've been exponentially more productive and focused working from home. Glad to hear things are going well for you and your team.
I agree with the challenge on mentorship but as being a junior myself. I miss those days when I can quickly chat with my boss or seniors around me for quick feedback and detail solutions. And I think those times are the most valuable and educational moments for juniors like me to learn something new. Now I need to slack my boss if he’s available to meet and when he can meet, and send a zoom link... it’s way too much hassle than before.
very few challenges. if anything it has made me more aware of the inanity of being chained to my office desk 45-50 hours a week. so much of this work can be done remotely.
Intent and expectations aren't always clearly communicated wih BB Revue, which results in numerous revisions and working late into the night and on weekends. We really have to pay attention to the Trello board so as not to miss late night additions from the project PM
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