Архитектурная фирма MoreySmith отказалась от гибридного формата работы, что привело к оттоку трети сотрудников

MoreySmith principal director Linda Morey-Burrows wrote in the Sunday Times earlier this month that her firm’s full-time in-studio approach ensured those in their early careers learned from experienced staff. Although she said her practice had ‘never been busier’ and continued to recruit ‘at pace’, she acknowledged the policy had prompted a third of her staff to leave at the end of the Covid pandemic. ‘I lost a director and my executive assistant, and several others left for childcare reasons, mostly women but also men in their mid-30s to mid-40s,’ Morey-Burrows wrote. Advertisement She didn’t compromise even when she found ‘the perfect senior architect’, a coastal commuter who wanted to be in the studio two or three days a week. ‘I wasn’t willing to bend,’ she said. ‘He was coming in at a senior level, and the point of that role was to mentor the team and inspire people to do their best work — not something you can do from home.’ But the Section of Architectural Workers (SAW), a Unite-affiliated branch representing people working in the architecture industry, rejected the suggestion that graduates can only learn in the studio. ‘Newcomers do benefit from office culture, but that benefit doesn’t come from simply sitting on the same floor as senior colleagues,’ a spokesperson said. ‘It comes from senior workers actually making time to teach by reviewing work properly, explaining the reasoning behind decisions, and giving junior colleagues real opportunities rather than treating them as a machine for churning out options.’ Advertisement A 2025 Fawcett Society report on gender inequality in the sector, commissioned by RIBA, recommended that practices provide explicit reasons for office attendance policies, and that they should allow working from home where possible. ‘Not all women have care responsibilities,’ the SAW spokesperson added, ‘but it is notable that “mostly women” left MoreySmith as a result of childcare necessities. ‘This policy risks discrimination under the [Equality Act 2010], particularly against disabled employees and women with children on whom it has a disproportionate effect.’ In response, Morey-Burrows told the AJ: ‘At MoreySmith, we’re committed to building a workplace where everyone is treated fairly. ‘We comply fully with the Equality Act 2010 and all relevant equality legislation, and we’re dedicated to protecting people from all forms of discrimination at every stage of employment. ‘As I said in my column, we recognise that people’s circumstances vary, and look to consider requests on a case-by-case basis, including for parents managing childcare responsibilities and employees who require reasonable adjustments, rather than applying a rigid blanket policy.’ ‘On the whole, everyone is in every day’ A former MoreySmith employee told the AJ spoke that staff hadn’t left the company because of the full-time office policy alone, although they believed people were seeking ‘more flexibility and understanding’. ‘The issue was less about working from home itself and more about the wider culture and approach to flexible working,’ the ex-staffer said (full comments in box below). In her Sunday Times article, Morey-Burrows said the studio offered flexible hours and a 4pm finish on Fridays. ‘There is leeway, too, if someone genuinely needs a day at home for something specific,’ she added. ‘But on the whole, everyone is in every day.’ ‘No right or wrong answer’ Recruitment agencies the AJ spoke to suggested there was no clear answer about the best policy to have, regarding working from home. 9b careers director Paul Chappell said he had seen a ‘clear’ shift back to the studio since the end of the pandemic, with a four-day office week increasingly the norm. A 2022 AJ/AR survey found a 50/50 split between remote and studio as the respondents’ preferred working pattern, closely followed by ‘working predominantly in the office’. Only 4 per cent wanted to work solely in the office. Chappell said those keener to return full-time tended to be senior professionals who built their careers in studio environments, while junior staff were often the most reluctant, ‘despite arguably having the most to gain’. He added: ‘Ultimately, there is no single solution. The practices succeeding are those with a clear culture and approach that attracts people who align with the way they work.’ Bespoke Careers director Lucy Cahill agreed that there ‘isn’t a right or wrong answer’ on working-from-home approaches as long as practices are transparent from the outset. She’s seen practices with full-time studio arrangements that continue to attract outstanding candidates. But she cautioned that a mandatory five-day office policy would ‘inevitably narrow’ the talent pool, particularly for people with caring responsibilities, disabilities or longer commutes. ‘That doesn’t mean it’s the wrong decision,’ she said. ‘But practices should recognise it is a commercial choice with recruitment consequences.’ Three major studios the AJ contacted to enquire about their working-from-home policies either didn’t respond or declined to comment. But Fynn, a growing north London practice, was open about its fully flexible approach. Director Theo Jones said his four-person team can choose where and when they work, provided they are London-based. ‘They are professionally trained, highly qualified people, and we don’t need to micromanage or monitor them,’ Jones said. While he acknowledged that established practices like MoreySmith may still attract talent despite strict policies, he agreed with Cahill that the candidate pool will be smaller. ‘Offering what we consider to be one of the best packages in the market aligns with our ethical principles on how we treat our team, and it makes good business sense too,’ Jones added. What a former MoreySmith employee said about working at the studio I wouldn’t say people left simply because of the full-time office policy, as there were a range of personal and professional reasons. But I do think the approach to returning to the office post-pandemic contributed to a more stressful environment for some people, in instances because of the limited flexibility around changing circumstances. I do think there’s value in being around colleagues, particularly earlier in your career, but that doesn’t mean everyone needs to be in the studio five days a week. Ultimately, my experience was that people were looking for more flexibility and understanding. The issue was less about working from home itself and more about the wider culture and approach to flexible working.