Return to Office (again)

The post-covid mess that keeps on giving...

We should all be questioning the sanity of mandating workers to return to desks that don't exist five years after establishing that remote work, well, works

I agree with the general consensus reported in this FT article (paywall) of 3 days in the office for lawyers working in the City in the second half of the article - that's consistent with what I'm seeing

I'd also expand on the cited magic circle partner's point around firms wanting to jump on a bandwagon and increase attendance. That is not an outlier perspective being offered

Rank and file staff have enjoyed a unique rebalancing of power from employers to employees since the pandemic, with NQ pay inflation and flexible working being two key areas in which that has been borne out

There are a number of firms looking for the cover of not being the first to increase attendance (as quoted) and I suspect a turn in the economic circle will be put to good effect to enact that change

However, this will inevitably sow the seeds of the next retention crisis when employment markets pick up again

I can foresee industry average office attendance waxing and waning between 2 - 4 days a week as those employee/employer dynamics flex, but the horse has well and truly bolted on getting that average up to 4-5 days

Law firm leadership teams need to come to terms with the fact that 30-40% of their qualified lawyers are less than 5 years PQE and have likely never experienced the pre-pandemic norm of 5 days in the office

And a further 15-20% have seen the majority of their legal career in the post-pandemic world

Those demographics are only going one way. I'm not convinced that fighting that tide is the best use of anyone's time

Someone needs to have a word with Magic Circle Partner Canute 🙂