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curious how often people stayed past 8, used seamless, car service, etc during the times before WFH

Think it goes by year, really. Probably once a week on average as a first year (sometimes 5 days a week, but then like a month straight where I was out by 6 or 7). Then twice a week as a second year, etc., up the chain. Anyone who was 7th year or above was up to probably every day (or at least 4-point-something-days), though part of that is that if you decide to still be working biglaw 7 years out then you've written off a personal life so it's not like you had anywhere better to be.

Serious question: why didn’t people just work from home in the evenings? I work late but am never at the office last 5 unless I’m on a call or mid fire drill and can’t spend the 20 minutes it takes me to get door to door.

I’m not NYC though.

For me, years 1-3 I probably stayed past 8pm two to three times a week on average. Years 4-5 it was zero or one time per week on average. The last year+ it’s been work from home. IME when you get more senior people care less if you stay late as long as they trust you to get everything done and make it high quality.

blair.waldorf wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 16, 2021 6:52 am

Serious question: why didn’t people just work from home in the evenings? I work late but am never at the office last 5 unless I’m on a call or mid fire drill and can’t spend the 20 minutes it takes me to get door to door.

I’m not NYC though.

Super firm/group dependent - if all the partners you work for are in the office past-8 and as a result most of the seniors and mid-levels stay past-8, it is pretty hard to not be stuck past-8 as a junior even if you want to go home and log in past six. PreWFH I had weeks I was stuck until 9 and weeks I could leave at 6 pretty easily and it was very partner dependent.

blair.waldorf wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 16, 2021 6:52 am

Serious question: why didn’t people just work from home in the evenings? I work late but am never at the office last 5 unless I’m on a call or mid fire drill and can’t spend the 20 minutes it takes me to get door to door.

I’m not NYC though.

Putting in a couple more hours and getting a meal/taxi home was worth it to finish up a couple items and not have to log back on from home.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 16, 2021 3:00 pm

blair.waldorf wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 16, 2021 6:52 am

Serious question: why didn’t people just work from home in the evenings? I work late but am never at the office last 5 unless I’m on a call or mid fire drill and can’t spend the 20 minutes it takes me to get door to door.

I’m not NYC though.

Putting in a couple more hours and getting a meal/taxi home was worth it to finish up a couple items and not have to log back on from home.

I feel like this is still primarily a NY thing, though, since in most other cities you can afford a place with a nice home office (or equivalent) on a BL salary. I do not know a single homeowner who would rather spend several additional hours at the office.

I’m a homeowner with a home office, not in NYC, and before WFH, if the choice was leaving at 5 and working at home in the evening, or staying till 8 getting whatever it was done and not working at home, I often stayed in the office. I hated bringing work home. (That said, I’ve since adjusted to working at home. Though if I’m in the office anyway I might still make the same decision to stay late.)

5 days a week virtually every working week (maybe 4 sometimes when a Friday was slow - but even then there was an expectation to wait for work at your desk or be seen in the office)...WFH and the related industry changes are such an infinite lifestyle improvement. I hope all of the juniors who started remote or went remote quickly after starting never have to live through those old days again.

My general expectation was that I would be in the office until at least 8-9 from Mon to Thu, although sometimes it was just to get a free meal.

i feel like if you go to the gym during the day near your office it's a lot easier to get to the 8pm mark

it's also my theory that working in the office garners more good will than working at home, even if you're doing the same amount of work, but I have no conclusive evidence of this. if true, that would suggest that someone with no preference for where they work should work in office

I don't see any difference between WFH and working in the office as I always lived close to the office. There is no mental switch for me, and the internet is a little faster in the office. I don't feel that much more comfortable being in my apartment compared to being in my office room when I actually need to finish up an assignment. If you are a junior associate sharing your office with somebody, then WFH would be better.