
Multiple US-based design firms
New Realities: Employee Wellness and Organizational Culture in Design Firms
Lens Services: Measuring Design Impact, Developing Organizations

A trusted advisor to Lens and leading design firms, Cameron MacAllister Group (CMG) helps organizations shape strategy, tell their stories, and build healthy cultures where diverse employees can thrive. In recent years, CMG’s consultants heard from many clients who were concerned about employee well-being and unsure how to address burnout that seemed to disproportionately impact young and minoritized professionals. Recognizing the need for data to help leaders understand and navigate these new realities, CMG partnered with our team to develop an industry benchmarking study and customized reporting that would help firms understand and identify opportunities to improve their employees’ experiences.
Leveraging experience gained through a decade of research on justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in the architectural profession, our team hypothesized that cultural issues and poor interpersonal dynamics might be key drivers of low morale and high turnover in the industry, especially among minoritized populations. We developed a thirty-question survey exploring these issues and distributed to employees in US- and Canada-based architectural firms, collecting a total of 2,750 responses from 57 firms.


27% of participants reported that they have considered leaving their jobs for mental health reasons within the last six months, with higher rates of burnout and interpersonal stress among Millennials, women, non-binary, and BIPOC professionals. The survey notes opportunities that can create cultures where diverse employees thrive including: experiences of inclusion, fairness, support from one’s leaders, engagement in one’s work, and work-life flexibility are all strongly predictive of employee well-being and, ultimately, intent to stay with one’s firm.

