Companies Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

New York

Total Offices: 16

1,920 Total Employees

Year Founded: 1936

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What's the Work-Life Balance Like at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)?

Updated on September 09, 2026

This page summarizes recurring themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and has not been reviewed or approved by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM).

What's the work-life balance like at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)?

Strengths in hybrid flexibility, wellbeing supports, and team depth are accompanied by deadline-driven time pressure, uneven intensity by role and office, and limited overtime compensation in some cases. Together, these dynamics suggest a cadence that can be sustainable between milestones but prone to spikes around deliverables, with outcomes hinging on office, team leadership, and project phase.

Key Insight for Candidates

Defining tradeoff: iconic, fast‑track projects for recurring, extended crunches with inconsistent comp time. Policies advertise flexibility, but partner/PM enforcement sets the pace, so deadlines often overrun personal time without reliable recovery. Candidates should expect steady lulls punctuated by punishing sprints that can erode wellbeing.

Evidence in Action

Deadline-Driven Overtime Peaks — SOM deliverables and signature, fast-track projects routinely trigger 60-80-hour weeks, per recurring employee feedback. Employees experience spiky schedules, manageable between milestones but extended evenings and weekends near deadlines.
PM-Enforced Comp Time — At SOM, comp time and overtime protocols exist, but actual recovery depends on how project managers enforce them. Employees' ability to disconnect after pushes varies widely by team, driving either sustainable pacing or chronic fatigue.

Positive Themes About Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

Remote or Hybrid Flexibility: Hybrid and flexible schedules provide options to accommodate life logistics when project cadence allows. Public-facing materials emphasize hybrid-friendly practices that can translate to team-level flexibility.
Adequate Staffing: Large project teams with specialist support (technical, visualization, model management) help distribute work and prevent single points of failure. Mature project management, standards, and QA reduce last‑minute chaos and after‑hours rework.
Wellbeing Programs: Paid family leave, backup child and elder care, and an employee assistance program offer practical supports that ease off‑the‑job demands. These benefits can help maintain balance when workloads are steady.

Considerations About Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

Time Pressure: Competition entries, fast‑track deliverables, late‑stage coordination, and multi‑office time zones often compress schedules into long evenings or weekend work near milestones. Blue‑chip client expectations for responsiveness and iteration speed add to deadline intensity.
Workload or Staffing: Designers and coordinators feel heavier stretches, and experiences vary widely by office and studio, leaving some teams with sustained intensity. Culture of excellence and polishing expectations can add hours even when tasks are technically complete.
Compensation-Workload Mismatch: Overtime compensation is described as limited or absent in some teams, making extended hours feel misaligned with rewards. This erodes perceived balance when spikes become frequent.

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These insights are generated using AI and may not reflect internal data or verified company information. They are intended solely for general informational purposes and should not be considered a definitive assessment of the company’s reputation. If you are a representative of this company, and would like this page to be removed, you may contact us via this form.