Around the Table

What HR Leaders in Architecture, Construction and Engineering Are Talking About

Oct 1, 2026. Sara Fife

Flexibility means more than working from home, everyone is using AI, and Gen Z is changing what people expect from work. Those were the big themes when ten of our architecture, engineering and construction clients joined us for lunch, with Allie Terrill and Jess Solomon from Astrid Legal adding a legal perspective. 

The conversation was candid, so we've shared themes rather than who said what. We're sharing them with all our clients, as many of you will be facing the same challenges.

1. Flexible work: a conversation, not a policy 

The question: What does flexibility look like in your organisation, and how are you managing its evolution under external pressures? 

• Candidates want it. SEEK's Laws of Attraction data ranks work-life balance as the top driver for job seekers, narrowly ahead of salary. 
• Employers are pulling back. In the PACE Survey, firms requiring staff in the office four or more days a week rose from 45% in 2024 to 61% this year. 
• The law is changing. Victoria's proposed right to work from home is scheduled to start on 1 July 2027, and the Fair Work Commission has decided to add a working-from-home term to the Clerks Award. 

Yet HR leaders see flexibility as much more than working from home. Around our table it included split shifts and adjusted hours, and the preference was flexibility offered to suit the individual employee over rigid rules. Need it? Have a conversation. 

Not necessarily from day one. A settling-in period helps new starters build relationships first. Graduates especially need face time.  When they are not surrounded by experienced colleagues, they lose the opportunity to learn from example. 

Flexibility and the right to disconnect. Someone who takes a couple of hours off in the afternoon and logs back on at night will send emails after hours. That works, as long as everyone understands a message isn't an expectation to reply. 

Nobody has nailed it. No one at the table thought their organisation had it all figured out, and that may be the point. With the law changing and people's circumstances shifting, flexibility can't be set once and left alone. It needs to be an ongoing conversation about what flexibility looks like, and whether it feels fair to everyone. 

2. AI: the question is how, not whether 

The question: How is your organisation managing AI use among employees, or are you just watching it happen? 

AI use among PACE Survey respondents has jumped from 62% two years ago to 96% this year. Every organisation at our table uses it, and accepts that clients and suppliers do too. 

Policies are struggling to keep up. All agreed AI policies need regular updating. At Aspect, we review ours every three months. 

Adoption is coming from both ends. Interestingly, several leaders said the keenest users in their business are often graduates and "twilighters" entering the final stages of their careers. The next shift will come when AI natives, who have never worked without it, enter the job market. 

Job seekers are using it, sometimes badly. AI-written cover letters tend to follow the same format and use the same language, which is a dead giveaway. When we recently recruited for an accounts position, a dozen cover letters were almost identical. It brought to mind Adam Spencer's idea of a "meat proxy": a person who passes on AI output without reading, understanding or checking it. The same risk applies inside organisations. An engineer who relies on AI for calculations without checking the working could put safety, compliance and the firm's reputation at risk. AI output still needs someone who understands it and stands behind it. 

3. Gen Z: different, but not all the same

The question: How are you evolving your culture to engage Gen Z while meeting the business's productivity expectations? 

Gen Z (born 1995 to 2010) will make up roughly 34% of the workforce by 2030, and the oldest are already moving into leadership. Research by Suzy Welch at NYU Stern found a clear gap between what Gen Z values and what employers are looking for. Gen Z's top values are wellbeing, authentic self-expression and helping others. Hiring managers want something quite different: drive for success, work at the centre of life, and a desire to learn. Only about 2% of more than 7,500 Gen Z respondents ranked all three of the employer-prized values in their top five. 

People first, generation second. Our own table spanned Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers which made for a lively discussion. The group agreed Gen Z approaches work differently, but cautioned against boxing people in by birth year. Values vary widely within any cohort. 

Immediate goals over long-term ones. Many in Gen Z focus on short-term goals, especially when long-term milestones feel out of reach. Technology has shaped all of us to expect quick results, and Gen Z has grown up with that as the norm. Frequent feedback, shorter-term milestones and visible progress may motivate more than a long career ladder.

Bringing it together

The common thread was conversation over rules: flexibility that's discussed, not dictated; AI policies that are regularly revisited; and understanding people as individuals, not stereotypes. 

Thank you to everyone who joined us. To talk through any of these themes, or how they might affect your recruitment and retention, please get in touch with the Aspect Personnel team.