Push to 4-Day Attendance Poses Risks for Law Firm Diversity Efforts

The push to return workers to the office are forcing caregivers to choose between potential career advancement and the flexibility of work-life balance.

As law firm leaders require a stricter return-to-office work policy, they also face consequences of losing diverse talent in their firms.

Remote work arrangements that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic transitioned into hybrid work arrangements recently, and has helped many caregivers attain work-life balance. 

Comments from ALM’s mental health survey indicated that one attorney felt that “particularly as a working mom with young kids, the pandemic shift to remote work has been life-changing and is THE reason I am able to make it all ‘work’—and happily so.”

The American Bar Association in its annual Practice Forward report 2022, shows that 47% of all those interviewed felt their ability to balance work and family obligations had increased with hybrid work, with “56% of women compared to 42% of men report[ing] an increased ability to balance work and family obligations due to remote or hybrid working.”

The report also notes that women were more likely to report higher quality of work and productivity when working on a remote or hybrid basis. 

However, firms such as Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Davis Polk & Wardwell have begun the process of bringing workers back to the office, with ramifications for the coveted hybrid working arrangements for its employees. 

Are you interested in more about the return to the office? Read more in this law.com article.