"Two-thirds of the workforce said they would find a new job if required to return to the office full-time, according to a survey of more than 32,000 workers by ADP Research Institute. Of those who quit their jobs in 2021, 35% cited wanting to move to a different area, according to the Pew Research Center." - The Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2022.
In the UK, there is also an interesting dynamic. In a survey being conducted by RollonFriday, most clients of law firms indicate they are fine with the lawyers at the law firms they use operating remotely. Those clients are sympathetic with lawyers' need for work/balance and WFH makes that more possible. Here is Law and More's coverage of that.
And some will recall that elite law firm Quinn Emanuel has instituted a permanent WFH policy.
In most of those contexts, the workforce is highly skilled. In the current reconfiguring of the management/labor contract they have real power.
But so many other segements of the workforce globally don't. They have to go into work. During COVID, global head of law firm Dentons Joe Andrew hammered that in his iconic April 2020 opinion-editorial in The Hill. Despite the risk of showing up in-person at work they had no choice. Not if they wanted the paycheck.
Many of them still don't. They range from the check-out clerks in Walmart to the nurses in medical centers. In addition, most law firms operate on a hybrid schedule. Even partners have to be there about three days a week.
Of course, the question pops up: How much power do those highly-paid lawyers actually have - since they have to go into work? Does the freelance communications professional like myself working remotely actually have more power? And do those partners commuting on Metro North from Greenwich, Connecticut to Midtown Manhattan envy us as they reboard that commuter train late in the evening?
The future of work could be dividing into the power to operate remotely or the lack of it. Having to go into a workplace could cast shade on a category of work and/or the employee. The meme could be: I can WFH. You have to show up for The Man. You must be less-than.
Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com. She is home all-the-time.
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