More than 1,000 people so far have voted in a Law Society poll on how firms should respond to quieter office days.

Chancery Lane said the LinkedIn poll was inspired by a Gazette article on London firm Kingsley Napley's decision to close two-and-a-half of its six floors on Fridays.

A rise in hybrid working ‘has left some offices looking like a “ghost town” on non-mandatory office days’, the Society told its 244,432 followers. The poll asks how firms should respond to quieter office days: leave the office open; restrict the office space; close the doors; or something else?

Suggestions in the comments section include using the space for community purposes or a day care area for working parents.

A law firm managing director said: ‘There should always be an open door for employees to give them the opportunity to collaborate and learn from each other in the office. That can’t be achieved in a better way than in person in my view.’

However, a legal finance professional said: ‘Hybrid working helps the firm with energy costs and carbon targets. If floor space is empty it should be sublet or reduced to save costs.’

A young boy dressed as a businessman sits at a desk with piles of folders

Suggestions include using the space for community purposes or a day care area for working parents

Source: iStock

An office manager suggested staff should be encouraged back to the office full time. ‘Sadly I doubt that’s ever going to happen again,’ replied a law firm administrator.

A US-based respondent said: ‘I honestly think it’s an opportunity to reinvest a lot of the overhead with bricks and mortar back into your staff. That said, I’ve seen a surprising number of people who hate working from home because it eliminates the separation between work life and home life.

‘In Seattle, we’ve seen a rise in rentable office space for individual workers, and I really like the idea of creating some kind of allowance for something like that. Plan for an office space that houses only your critical on-site personnel, and then use the savings from downsizing to fund pay rises and a fund for people who can work from home but want to rent an office space for productivity.’

 

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