Workplace Culture Report about the Profession: Released by the ARB
Architects play a vital role in society. Their unique training and expertise put them in a powerful position. The public rely on the competence of architects and need the profession to behave ethically, to treat people with respect, and to raise concerns should they have any.
ARB, as the statutory regulator for the profession, reflects the public interest in our approach to regulation. To help us do this, we commissioned independent research into the workplace culture experienced by architects and how this shapes the quality of the work they deliver. We did this to:
Support the development of a new Code of Conduct and Practice, which applies to all registered architects. It describes what the public, clients and colleagues can expect of the profession, and how architects can expect to be treated by one another.
Inform the work of the Professional Practical Experience Commission by finding out more about what happens during the period of initial education and training that the Commission is looking into.
Respond to concerns that some architects and other professionals had raised with ARB about the conduct and culture of the profession. We needed an impartial evidence base to help us understand the culture in the profession, the impact of that culture on architects and, through their work, the public.
Thinks Insight & Strategy, an independent expert research agency, developed a comprehensive research methodology. This included an initial survey that was sent to registrants, employers and students through their schools of architecture, and shared across social media. The survey was completed by 898 architects and early career professionals. Further depth interviews were conducted with 15 survey respondents. The survey was widely promoted, and to ensure a rigorous approach to the evidence base, quotas were set to ensure a robust sample across the profession, so that the results could be reliable and inform ARB’s work.
https://arb.org.uk/architect-information/architects-code-standards-of-conduct-and-practice/workplace-culture/
