25 industry at large, should also think about resilience collectively or systemically. “Let’s identify the needs of the collective – let’s talk about and address their concerns or their fears,” she says. “It’s about creating a system where those things are identified and systemically oriented within your ethos.” Boateng says that more data needs to be collected regarding burnout in architecture for the root causes to be addressed. “Taking data is always going to be first,” she said. “Let’s get an understanding of the nature of the architects in the industry – how are they feeling? What is connected to their burnout? Are they still connected to the value they find in the industry? Data, and being able to have information as to what’s happening currently, is very important.” How does a healthy work culture support individuals? Annelise Pitts, AIA, an architect at Shepley Bulfinch, an upcoming speaker at WLS 2022, and a researcher and consultant in areas of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, drew on her own experiences as a mother of a three-year-old working during the pandemic to point out that burnout’s key drivers are organizational factors. As Pitts told attendees, women in most fields are more likely than men to experience burnout –architecture is no different. Long hours, an expectation of personal sacrifice, and blurred personal and professional boundaries are all contributing factors. As mentioned, Pitts currently works at Shepley Bulfinch, which, she says, “is a firm that has deeply aligned values with mine.” As Pitts shared, these values show up through mindsets, habits, and systems that support employees. They range from cultivating psychological safety on teams to strategic commitments to EDI, learning and empowerment. Pitts used David Rock’s SCARF (status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, fairness) model to demonstrate how the hierarchy and pressures of an architecture office can negatively impact a professional’s mental health. According to Rock, the brain is a social organ and experiences the workplace first and foremost as a social system. When individuals feel threatened and unsupported, they feel unsafe taking risks, and creativity can be limited – which, in a creative field like architecture, is a problem. Focusing on culture and mindset, and changing them one day at a time, as Shepley Bulfinch has tried to do, is the way to move forward, Pitts emphasized. Using her own workplace as a model, she shared examples of productive mindsets and habits – a commitment to learning and growing together and treating everyone with kindness and respect, paired with tangible support systems like flexibility (a hybrid-forward work schedule, summer Fridays) and resources (healthcare, wellness benefits). She also pointed out that psychological safety – or the reassurance that you won’t be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes – is essential to any workplace where employees feel supported. Pitts closed out her presentation with an exploration of what individuals, co-workers and firms can do to support themselves and each other, including an honest assessment of firm culture to identify areas of improvement and support for flexible, sustainable work-life relationships. Leading incremental change and creating accountability in firms have the power to build a healthier profession. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE AIA WEBSITE, AIA.ORG, ON AUG 15, 2022, AND UPDATED ON SEPT. 12, 2022, THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN EDITED FOR LENGTH AND FORMATTING. E.I Wiegand Fitness Center University of Nevada, Reno Landscape Architecture Services Carson City • Fallon • Lake Tahoe • Reno www.LumosInc.com Lumos & Associates Services fCivil Engineering fStructural Engineering fGeotechnical Engineering fConstruction Services fLandscape Architecture fSurveying Marc Chapelle , PLA Landscape Architect Call us to find out how you can earn a continuing education credit while learning about the opportunities that custom digital printed wallcoverings can provide to accentuate your next project! Reprographics Center “It’s Our Job To MakeYou Look Good!” www.nvblue.com 775-827-4441
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