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DC associate here. My firm hasn’t said for sure, but will prob follow other big firms once they make a decision. I’m thinking no earlier than Fall/Winter 2021.
As for the FaceTime requirement— all depends on who you work with. The partners I work with haven’t pressured anyone to come back— but have made it abundantly clear they themselves prefer the office v. WFH. To me, this means that once the office opens back up fully (no masks), associates will be expected to be there most, if not all of the time.
That said, if it pans out like that and I’m expected to be in the office 5 days a week, I’m going to jump to another firm that gives more flexibility. My quality of life and mental health has drastically improved with WFH. I am not giving up all of the gains I made during COVID. I don’t have to worry about being present to be “seen” and I actually “see” my coworkers more now than I ever did in the office. (I sometimes didn’t talk to or see anyone for weeks at a time because everyone was always so “busy” or traveling for work). I don’t have to worry about traffic jams and getting up at the crack of dawn to commute. I take walks during the day, and cook my own lunch, and work with my three dogs at my feet. Nope, never going back to how it was before.
The tricky part is that firms aren’t going to say “you need to be here everyday” nor will they say “yes you can work from home most of the time and not have any career consequences”— it’ll unfortunately be up to you to read the room and determine what’s reasonable.
As long as mask wearing is required, I think it is relatively pointless to have in-office attendance mandatory. I would guess there will not be required return to office until things are mask-free, but that is just my guess.
Also DC here. My firm is implementing a permanent WFH policy, though my group is saying they want juniors to come in once a week post-pandemic, just so they can train and won’t forget what we look like. I am signing up to give up my office right away if they ask. If for whatever reason the general facetime requirement is any more robust than that, several people already told me they would leave.
Troutman. I should add that the firm already sent out a preliminary survey months ago gauging who would be willing to give up their offices. The firm just merged with Pepper Hamilton this past year so I believe this is also part of figuring out the merged office’s real estate post-COVID.
My DC office just pushed it’s “return to office” date until Labor Day. They’re considering hybrid WFH approaches post-pandemic, but I have a feeling that will end up being largely practice-group specific.
Coach
This is the big question. I suspect around September. The partners at my firm seem to be split on whether to relax the remote work policy. If I had to guess, they’ll let people work remote 1-2 days without a reason, and more if you have a reason to. I’m already planning to see if my doctor will write a note
Coach
It could be that because I have an pre existing condition. But I’d like something that will last even if COVID is totally contained. Maybe back pain or high blood pressure. I’m still brain storming 🙃
SF Bay Area here. My guess is that we’ll have the option (not mandatory) to go back a few weeks after local ordinances permit, which seems to be on track for sometime this summer. I think we’ll see people returning in more significant numbers in the fall, presuming schools are open (and after everyone takes a 2-3 week vacation lol). Face time is gonna be highly dependent on your group/partner preferences, but mine worked from home a fair amount pre-pandemic, and I think will be supportive of people who want to stay in remote locations or come in less. My ideal would be every other day in the office (2-3 days per week depending on what’s on my schedule) and I’m not anticipating any pushback for this.
Subject Expert
You’re jumping the gun. States will lift their masks mandated and it’ll get worse all over again
Mentor
Keep your eyes on Texas...
The sole partner I work for has told me he plans to go full remote, and has given me that option as well. I’ll likely go in 3 days a week.
We go to the office 2-3x a week, and wfh for the rest of the week, no more weekends and holidays. I'm fine with this setup though, I hope we never go back to the 5 days a week mandatory office presence