Chesterfield architect 'blown away' as thousands respond to work lockdown burn-out concerns

Architect Nick Riley, director at Whittam Cox Architects, posted on Twitter and LinkedIn how exhausted he felt after a week of hang-outs and virtual on-line meetings.

Thousands of people liked the posts and echoed his concerns about the impact it was having on everyone's mental health.

He wrote: “Friday 5pm. Who else feels ruined? This lockdown feels noticeably different.

"I know many colleagues and collaborators who are personally struggling right now from conversations I’ve had over the last week. This isn’t about being weak.

"Being honest, this week I’ve felt tired and frustrated. I’ve lacked energy, focus and motivation - despite being extremely busy and trying to juggle relentless meetings and an ever expanding workload.

"The pressure and expectations never let up. Home schooling and home life are a further distraction and challenge to balance.

"Everyone has their own unique experience and challenges but this is tough. Really tough.”

He added: “Remote working and life by MS Teams/Zoom isn’t fun, it’s a necessity. Aspects of it bring benefits, but also challenges. These are challenges nobody knows how to fix easily.

"Does this all sound familiar? What do you need to do to be your best? Surviving is a short term solution. All of this isn’t short term...how can we adapt to be effective...”

His comments instantly struck a chord, with thousands of others saying they felt the same – and thanking him for drawing attention to the issue.

Nick said: “I’m genuinely blown away by the response this has generated!

“It’s reassuring to me, and I’m sure others here, that so many people feel the same. This underlines the important point here that It’s ok to not be ok; that our mental well-being is critically important as we work in isolation.

"For me, being a slave to Teams and screen time is a big part of the problem. My personal role has changed beyond recognition since Covid, I’m sure this the same for others too.

“I really hope this post has made people think about their own situation and/or those they are working with.”