Pandemic's long-term effects on work-life balance in NYC biglaw Forum

[Anonymous User]

A year into the pandemic, it feels like we can start talking about the changes it has caused as potentially semi-permanent. For those in biglaw in NYC specifically, what changes to work culture and work-life balance do you expect to stick around for the foreseeable future even if things are mostly back to normal later this year?

Will working from home (maybe just a couple days a week) be allowed at most firms long-term? Have expectations about hours and availability gotten any more or less demanding? Is there a greater or lesser respect for work-life balance and boundaries for associates (i.e. are you more or less likely to get an urgent email on a Saturday night)?

[ChairmanKaga]

In my experience:

Will working from home (maybe just a couple days a week) be allowed at most firms long-term?

Allowed, definitely. Common, maybe. It will depend on whether partners continue to do it.

Have expectations about hours and availability gotten any more or less demanding?

Overall hours, unchanged. For availability, see below.

Is there a greater or lesser respect for work-life balance and boundaries for associates (i.e. are you more or less likely to get an urgent email on a Saturday night)?

Less. WFH reduces the physical/psychological separation (such as it is) between being at work and not and between weekday and weekend. That has made it more likely for you to be expected to be available late at night or on the weekend.

[Anonymous User]

I personally feel like there's way less of a work life balance now (to the extent I had one before, even if only marginally better)

when I was still in NYC pre-COVID, I would only get so many emails before 930-10am (outside of predictably busy/crazy periods), and a fair amount of people didn't even stroll into the office until like 1030

now everyone is starting their days at like 8am and working until super late. it's like living at the office for most of the week. no downtime due to commuting on anyone's end and no "leaving" the office, I think.

[Anonymous User]

Agreed that it has been worse for work/life balance. Pre-COVID, it wasn’t unreasonable for midlevel/senior associates to say things like, “I’m going to be offline from 6-9:30 tonight but will be available after” (which already sucks), but now it feels like there’s no room to “be offline” because what could you possibly be doing? The only exception is if you have kids, but that obviously carries its own work/life balance complications. I love working from home but I’m tired of it being a thing for partners to call me on my cell phone with no warning, and having calls scheduled at night or on weekends for no reason other than that people have no lives and can’t help themselves.

[avenuem]

Agreed that it has been worse for work/life balance. Pre-COVID, it wasn’t unreasonable for midlevel/senior associates to say things like, “I’m going to be offline from 6-9:30 tonight but will be available after” (which already sucks), but now it feels like there’s no room to “be offline” because what could you possibly be doing? The only exception is if you have kids, but that obviously carries its own work/life balance complications. I love working from home but I’m tired of it being a thing for partners to call me on my cell phone with no warning, and having calls scheduled at night or on weekends for no reason other than that people have no lives and can’t help themselves.

Make it stop plz. It's even worse when asssociates do it.

[Anonymous User]

Everything is worse, except I no longer feel awkward about not going to the office that I already didn't go to 75% of the time. The day is just 1 long work day; evening, night and weekend calls and emails are now routine; and I have zero semblance of a work life balance.

[alawyer2018]

Agreed that it has been worse for work/life balance. Pre-COVID, it wasn’t unreasonable for midlevel/senior associates to say things like, “I’m going to be offline from 6-9:30 tonight but will be available after” (which already sucks), but now it feels like there’s no room to “be offline” because what could you possibly be doing? The only exception is if you have kids, but that obviously carries its own work/life balance complications. I love working from home but I’m tired of it being a thing for partners to call me on my cell phone with no warning, and having calls scheduled at night or on weekends for no reason other than that people have no lives and can’t help themselves.

Make it stop plz. It's even worse when asssociates do it.

If it's a weekday and during working hours (i.e., 9-6 pm), there is absolutely nothing wrong with someone calling you out of the blue. If you're upset that they're calling your personal cell phone, you should make sure that your work cell phone is listed as your primary contact number and is included in your signature block.

[Joachim2017]

I definitely believe there is less work/life balance now. Compared to a year ago, partners call me later in the evening, on my cell phone, and start chatting as though they had called me on my office phone at work when I was at my desk.

Someone recently said that "we don't work from home, we live in our offices now." I think that's overstated, but it's not far off. I hope partners recognize the strain and either ease up or make a push to return to the office as soon as we can in a safe way -- sometime in the early fall, I'd say.

[Anonymous User]

Agreed that it has been worse for work/life balance. Pre-COVID, it wasn’t unreasonable for midlevel/senior associates to say things like, “I’m going to be offline from 6-9:30 tonight but will be available after” (which already sucks), but now it feels like there’s no room to “be offline” because what could you possibly be doing? The only exception is if you have kids, but that obviously carries its own work/life balance complications. I love working from home but I’m tired of it being a thing for partners to call me on my cell phone with no warning, and having calls scheduled at night or on weekends for no reason other than that people have no lives and can’t help themselves.

Make it stop plz. It's even worse when asssociates do it.

If it's a weekday and during working hours (i.e., 9-6 pm), there is absolutely nothing wrong with someone calling you out of the blue. If you're upset that they're calling your personal cell phone, you should make sure that your work cell phone is listed as your primary contact number and is included in your signature block.

Lol thanks for these opinions stated as objective facts In any event, the calls are not limited to work hours and my firm, a boutique, does not provide work cell phones.

[nixy]

I mean, there isn’t anything wrong with someone calling you out of the blue during business hours. That’s how working works. The original complaint was about people picking up. Whether you pick up when someone calls depends on what you’re doing. If the issue is that you don’t know whether it’s work or friends/family calling because it’s all on your cell, program a different ring tone for work calls.

Calls at night/on weekends are different and those calls out of the blue obviously suck. And I can get how lots of calls off hours makes it easy to resent all calls. Or if “call” really means “half hour meeting,” yes ideally someone will arrange that ahead of time. But there is absolutely no reason someone who wants to talk to you during work hours has to email ahead of time for every call.

[Anonymous User]

Current Associates: What is the general vibe feeling like for post-pandemic WFH? Is it just wishful thinking or is there a legitimate chance people will be able to WFH 2-3 days a week without being disadvantaged? I dont see why firms wouldn't allow this, it seems like it would be so much better for quality of life and associate retention

[Anonymous User]

Current Associates: What is the general vibe feeling like for post-pandemic WFH? Is it just wishful thinking or is there a legitimate chance people will be able to WFH 2-3 days a week without being disadvantaged? I dont see why firms wouldn't allow this, it seems like it would be so much better for quality of life and associate retention

My boutique has given zero indication that they’re considering this, and there are still plenty of “hopefully we’ll all be able to be back together in the office again soon” comments

[2013]

Current Associates: What is the general vibe feeling like for post-pandemic WFH? Is it just wishful thinking or is there a legitimate chance people will be able to WFH 2-3 days a week without being disadvantaged? I dont see why firms wouldn't allow this, it seems like it would be so much better for quality of life and associate retention

Firms that allow this will probably realistically start using the office hoteling service where associates don’t have offices. No point giving an office to someone who isn’t there half the week.

I think firms will allow it because it saves the firm money.

However, for all of the reasons above, I would like to go back to the office ASAP.

[lolwutpar]

Personally, I intend to go in maybe 1-2 times a week once the office re-opens. I am past the point of caring if partners judge me for it, and I really like working from home.

[randomthrowaway]

I was only going in maybe two times a week pre-pandemic, so I'm planning to keep WFH until someone tells me that I have to go in.

[Anonymous User]

Spoke candidly with partner I work with (for context, non-NYC but still big city V20): their thought was that we'd designate three days a week for folks to be in the office and let folks work from home the other two (likely Monday and Tuesday). Would still allow for the in-person training/collaboration while recognizing that WFH is here to stay in some capacity.

[Anonymous User]

My firm (non-NYC office) has been pretty wishy washy about the return timeline, but people have been going in on a limited basis. I am personally looking forward to going back regularly. I enjoy the separation between home and work.