Is limiting remote work in the law office really helping with productivity? In several law firms that I am aware of, remote work is encouraged for attorneys but not for paralegals, secretaries, and other office staff. the idea behind this is that the office staff is more productive when working in the actual office. But why is this any different for attorneys? Wouldn't they also improve their productivity by being in the office? It seems unfair to allow only one group of people in the office to reap the benefits of remote work.
I think that there are many benefits in the workplace when remote work is allowed for all persons in the office. It can be refreshing to come back to the office after having a few days at home to reset in a place you are comfortable. Also, it provides those with familial obligations to spend more time with their family members while still fulfilling the duties required by their job. Another benefit is an increase of completed work tasks because you are getting back the time it would take you to commute to the office.
Yes, remote work for non-lawyer staff can be just as important for productivity as allowing lawyers to work remotely. My first experience with remote work involved support staff. My longtime legal secretary remarried and moved about an hour drive each way from the office. She was willing to come into the office one or two days per week, but not every day.
ReplyDeleteThis was the mid-90's before broadband internet. We had to find remote solutions that would work with dial-up access. There was software called PCAnywhere that when installed on the host computer (her PC at the office) and the remote computer (the PC I purchased for her to use at home) allowed her to dial into her office computer from her home computer and access all the files and programs on the office computer as if she was sitting in the office. Response was slow due to the dial-up nature of the connection, but it was usable.
Back then, I dictated most of my documents. That meant we also needed a remote dictation solution. A company called Lanier made a four-cassette carousel based analog dictation machine with a telephone interface. I would call the number of the telephone line connected to the dictation machine and dictate documents using my telephone. Different keys on the telephone triggered different functions on the dictation machine, such as record, rewind, playback, etc.
My secretary would listen to the recordings, type the documents, and upload them to her computer at the office where I could access them through the very rudimentary wired ethernet network I installed. The process worked well-enough that we continued it for years until I left the firm and moved to Florida.
Thankfully, modern technology is much better than what we had 30 years ago in the mid-90's. But even then, finding a way to accommodate the needs of key staff was important and avoided the expense and loss of productivity of hiring and training someone new.