We were recently delighted to see our research from, ‘The hybrid office: a Totum workplace report’, featuring in an article written for the Horizon newsletter published by The Lawyer. The piece focuses on findings from our survey, with author Katy Dowell, Horizon Editor  at The Lawyer, exploring the data findings, particularly focusing on how firms are shifting back to office attendance as the preferred working model.

The following is an extract from the column as it appeared in Horizon, with a full link to the article at the end. 

By Katy Dowell

Hybrid working has been a significant success for Big Law, with lawyers now used to being able to switch between meetings and the domestic chores. Yes, the working day might be longer, but it’s been more productive for both home and work life. Sadly, the washing may begin to pile up again, as new research highlights a shift away from hybrid working, with the preference now being that the office should be the centre of gravity, not your home.

If your firm doesn’t have a hybrid policy, then it is in the minority. According to the most recent office report from Totum, some 96 per cent of respondents have adopted a formal hybrid working or home working strategy, and for most of those (71 per cent) this will be a permanent change. In identifying those formal policies, however, the majority of firms have redefined what it means to be a hybrid worker.

For its last hybrid working survey in September 2022, 30 per cent of respondents showed a preference for the 40/60 rule in favour of homeworking. This means three days at home and two days in the office, with 28 per cent favouring the reverse pattern. But by March, the craving for office working had dramatically increased with 44 per cent of respondents wanting people in the office at least three days a week. And what of the 40/60 homeworking rule? Just 8 per cent of respondents made this the favourable position in March. It is a clear change in direction…

Read the full article as published by The Lawyer, or find out more about Horizon, published daily by The Lawyer.

For more information on Totum Research contact Sarah Broad at [email protected].uk