Six key changes to SME law firm workplace culture following the pandemic

Chris Cotterill, client account manager at Wesleyan, on what SME law firms should consider when planning a post-pandemic working model.

A common topic at the moment seems to be whether or not staff should work from home, office or a mix of both post-pandemic. A number of factors need to be considered when thinking of the best approach.

Employment – Firms that do not reform to the new ways run the risk of losing their staff to competitors that are more flexible with working hours. The savings made in fuel and annual train tickets, has for some brought an average of 15% pay increases, as they no longer have to pay these costs themselves. By bring staff back to the office, they then have to then cover travel costs again.

Liability – As the government’s general advice is: “If you can work from home then please do so,” if staff feel pressured to go back to the office and then contract Covid-19, does this open the doors to Employers Liability Claims? Is a firm liable for an employee catching Covid-10 when it requests staff to work from the office even if though the job could be done from home?

Mental health – People’s mental wellbeing will be affected in both the office and working from home. Some individuals need the office environment for the social interaction they crave after months of lockdown isolation. Others have found a better home-work life balance, and the hours of commute every week now seems like wasted time. The downside is that we need to ensure that our staff can switch off and separate their work from family life.

Environmental impact – The world has taken a deep breath with the human population being in lockdown. Millions of people have not been driving to and from work or crammed onto trains and the underground. Do we need to put our staff on the road to drive an hour to work and back again when they can simply login from home? With the reduction in commuting there is a drop in our own CO2 footprint.

Productivity – Do staff feel like they can accomplish more by not spending hours getting ready in the morning to then spend an hour commuting to work? Do they work harder to prove a point that they can do this? Do they work that bit extra as they don’t have to race to log off to get the earlier train?

Flexible hours and family life – Remote access has opened the doors to more flexible working meaning that school runs can be done without the extra cost of earlier kid’s clubs. This provides both a cost saving and greater family interaction. The hours gained from not commuting gives ourselves more hours with our families or for healthy life activities including exercise.

Not one solution fits all, but companies need to consider all relevant impacts before setting a rule.