The employment reality you find yourself in right now is seismically different than what you could imagine when the COVID-19 Coronavirus was first reported. Most humans do not like change in the way they go about their day but with time we will adapt to the new way of life and succeed. Once COVID-19 passes, however long that will take, the manner in which we work and where we geographically work will not return to the way it was in early 2020. I will do my best to predict the top three employment related trends so you are prepared for the near future.

1. Work At Home Option

For most employees of a law firm or company working at home is a luxurious option that rarely is implemented or accepted. Certain transactional attorneys and professionals, such as those in the patent and transactional groups, have benefitted from working at home more than other positions. My sense from being a national recruiter for almost 15 years is that employers like to have their employees around the office for good reason, many of which involve face-to-face communications and interaction. These activities can include the direction and supervision of work assignments; mentorship and training; discussing legal strategy, firm meetings; and simply to have the ability to interact with other co-workers in person.

This is no longer going to be the status quo. Even when this coronavirus is eliminated as a public threat things will not go back to the exact way they were. This includes working at home. Now, the entire workforce is working at home from the top to the bottom of your organization. With this come familiarity and acceptance. Online videoconferencing tools such as Zoom and WebEx will be downloaded on everyone’s laptops and phones. When things get back to more normal many employers will see that daily interaction may not be a necessity as it once was thought to be. You might not be working at home everyday but if it makes business sense to stay home to complete an assignment or if it fits better in your day when traveling, I foresee you being able to do so much more often.

2. Hiring

With COVID-19, face-to-face interviews have been shut down - and should be. Already firms have transitioned to WebEx and Zoom online interviews and I believe that the huge cost savings benefit will make this a staple interview method from now on. There is a downside to video meetings of course with the lack of in-person interviews and all the benefits that come with that. Both interviewers and interviewees will certainly miss the personal connection with online interviews but the reality is they will be here to stay in many cases even when the coronavirus passes.

3. Remote Jobs

This one is very interesting. Law firms and companies will find it increasingly more difficult to argue that working from home a few days a week is unacceptable since we all are doing that now. I believe we will find a quantum increase in full time remote jobs for certain attorney related jobs. This will really open things up for candidates who may wish to remain in a different geographical location even if it means flying in once a month to visit the firm’s office. I think we will also find that law firms will work more fluid among their various locations as the world we live in becomes more virtual. This will also allow candidates that live on the West Coast to check in with these offices rather than moving to the East Coast permanently. Again, there are many advantages in working physically in the same offices but the cat is out of the bag and the trend to work remotely will continue to gain momentum.

The Year 2020 will create a seismic change in much of how we work and interact moving forward. Even if things return more to “normal” within the next few years, the imprint that the coronavirus has had speeds up the trajectory of the way we hire and work online.

I hope you enjoyed this article. Thanks for reading,

Mark N. Fishman, Esq.

Owner - MNF Global Legal Search Firm