News + Ideas

The Impact Blog is a spotlight series that highlights and celebrates the diverse employees that make MGAC tick. Beyond their day-to-day schedules, we want to know how they have a greater impact on their colleagues, their company, and the communities in which they live and work. We want to know what makes them get out of bed in the morning, what led them to their current role, and what they hope their lasting impact will be.

Today, we get to know Euan Morley, Associate at MGAC.

MGAC: Hello and welcome to the Impact Blog, Euan!

Euan Morley (EM): Thank you!

MGAC: What is your role here at MGAC?

EM: I’m an Associate with the UK cost team. I’m based in Glasgow and work closely with the quantity surveying team both here and in London, working on several projects.

MGAC: When did you join MGAC?

EM: I joined last November.

MGAC: How have you been settling in?

EM: It’s been good! It’s different from the type of company I worked with before. MGAC, with its global setup and the overall scale of the company, is much larger. So, lots of new learnings, but also good opportunities to bring some of my experience from before! I’m really enjoying meeting a new set of people, learning a new way of working, and integrating some of my knowledge as well.

MGAC: What were you doing before you came to MGAC?

EM: I had a similar role with a company based in Glasgow for about seven and a half years. I actually did accountancy as my initial degree at Strathclyde University in Glasgow. So, I stayed around this area, close to home for university, and then I worked as an accountant for a year and a half. I ultimately decided to make a change and went back to earn a master’s in quantity surveying. From there, I began working at my last job.

MGAC: What made you originally set your sights on accounting?

EM: It sounds a bit boring, but I enjoyed those courses! I was enrolled in the business school when I was at university. I always wanted to do that general degree, and then naturally, found myself leaning toward accounting. I quite liked understanding businesses, how companies work, and the kind of insights that gave you. I really did think I was going to be a chartered accountant, and that was the plan! But I found the university course just a little bit different from the day-to-day practise. I was missing something tangible—that opportunity to see the end product. That was the motivation behind going back to quantity surveying!

MGAC: As someone who found their way into this industry, what do you think younger you would think of your role today? 

EM: That’s quite an insightful question! I think I’d be proud of it. I think I’d be pleased that I found something that I wake up and want to do, something that I enjoy as a career. I definitely don’t think I would have necessarily known about quantity surveying at a young age, but I always liked construction and the built environment, so I hope I’d be happy to see where I am now!

MGAC: Sounds like younger you would absolutely be proud!

EM: Yes! Though I did have a dream of being a professional golfer—but that ended quite early. A younger me might have liked to see that go a bit longer!

MGAC: Fair enough! So, what’s keeping you busy on the project front?

EM: I’m working on a handful of local projects. One is a redevelopment of a local retail park with a London-based developer. There’s an office development in the pipeline in central Scotland. We also have a number of projects that the wider UK team is working on in different locations. We even have one in Jamaica—there are a few hands up in the office for that site visit! Overall, it’s a nice balance of work—one that allows me to have an impact on the local built environment here close to home, as well as the opportunity to work in new areas.

MGAC: Speaking of making an impact through work—what do you hope that looks like?

EM: Looking back, I’d love to say that I positively impacted my local environment. I’d also love to know that I’d given some of my knowledge and contributed professionally to the team.

MGAC: And what impact has the team at MGAC had on you?

EM: My time at MGAC has shown me that while the world can be a big place, working with colleagues from around the world can be so helpful and easy. The diversity of people and skill bases here is really helpful for bringing knowledge together.

MGAC: What do you find most rewarding about your job?

EM: The physical output. When you work hard on something, and you see that people are using and enjoying the end product, and that it benefits lives and communities, that’s really rewarding. I also really enjoy working on a team. In my role, I’m often in meetings of 10 to 15 people with very different skill sets: structural engineers, architects, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, and various stakeholders. I learned very quickly that you shouldn’t pretend to know everything, and I’ve found it really enjoyable to learn from specialists with different skills and backgrounds. We all have different interests and perspectives, but we’re all working toward the same outcome. It’s rewarding when everyone works together to get it right. That can be challenging, but also really rewarding.

MGAC: What might an ideal day on the job look like for you?

EM: It would be an early start to get going with some time in the morning to reset a bit and prepare for the day. If I go into the office, I have a train commute, which is nice. Then, anything face-to-face—meeting with people, seeing people at the office—makes for the best kind of day for me. Of course, getting time to work through deliverables is important, too. Overall, a mix of physical meetings and time to deliver on my work would be a perfect day.

MGAC: Do you have a go-to routine for winding down at the end of a work day?

EM: I quite like cooking dinner with my girlfriend in the flat at the end of the day. When the weather permits in Scotland, we’ll be getting out for a nice walk after. We also try to commit to getting out a couple of nights a week to enjoy a meal out in town.

MGAC: That’s great. Now, are you ready for some rapid-fire questions?

EM: Sure!

MGAC: You’re starting the workday. What’s the first thing you do?

EM: Coffee. Then, I’m pedantic, and I quite like my desk neat and square, with the phone and every book in the right position. So, I set that out when I sit down. If I start like that, the day tends to start okay!

MGAC: And the last thing? 

EM: Write my list for tomorrow.

MGAC: What’s the first item on your to-do list right now?

EM: I have a contract to be drafted and issued tomorrow, so I need to work on that.

MGAC: What’s your go-to workday lunch at the moment?

EM: Sandwiches from the shop nearby. I enjoy a good ham salad sandwich.

MGAC: What’s the most interesting thing we might find on your desk or in your work bag?

EM: In my home office, I’ve got a “positive potato.” It’s a little knitted potato and it says, “I may be a tiny potato, but I believe in you. Go do your thing!” It was gifted to me by my girlfriend when I started at MGAC. I wasn’t sure if it was professional enough for the office environment, so I have it at home!

MGAC: What can you not get through the workday without?

EM: Coffee and structure!

MGAC: What’s something your colleagues would never be surprised to hear you say?

EM: What does the contract say?

MGAC: What’s the most-used app on your phone?

EM: WhatsApp.

MGAC: How might you describe your job in five words or less?

EM: Dynamic. Challenging. Rewarding. Interesting.

MGAC: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

EM: My mum always said, “What’s for you won’t go by you.” Meaning: if it’s meant to be and you work hard, it will come. It’s a common Scottish phrase, but it’s become a mantra for me.

MGAC: Looking at the industry 10 years from now, what do you predict will have changed?

EM: I think we’re going to see a big transition in the way we work in terms of digital input. I think we will adapt to a much more advisory-based role, with the delivery of thoughtful advice becoming more important than some of the tasks that AI and digital processes can take over.

MGAC: What do you think will remain the same?

EM: I firmly believe that there will always be a place for human interaction and for people dealing with people. At the end of the day, nobody wants to work with a computer alone. They want to work with faces and individuals who can offer thoughtful advice.

MGAC: What would your dream project look like?

EM: A bespoke, high-quality hotel based in Scotland in a coastal location. Ideally, it would be a warm coastal location, but you don’t really get those in Scotland too often… So, a Scottish coastal location that we only work on in the summer!

MGAC: Where might we find you if you’re not at work?

EM: Playing golf or out on a walk getting some fresh air with my girlfriend. I live in Hamilton, about 40 minutes from Glasgow city centre, and can be in the countryside in less than 10 miles.

MGAC: What’s something your colleagues don’t know about you?

EM: I’m quite a big country music fan! A couple of my brother’s friends were in America for six months and came back and loved it. I got to listening one day and now I’ve even attended a country music festival in the UK with artists from Nashville. I saw Brett Young in Glasgow just recently!

MGAC: What are you known for around the office?

EM: I’m quite chatty with a sense of humour, but people at the office would probably say I’m a bit of a stickler for the details in the contracts!