Many individuals within the legal industry are working from home in order to promote social distancing and keep everyone safer as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage. Although some law firms have inexplicably reopened their offices too soon, most managers realize that employees can complete almost all of their work tasks from home instead of trekking to an office. Many partners have lamented in recent months that having employees work from home has decreased productivity and hurt the profits of many shops. In order to boost the productivity of workers, and give employees the support they need, more law firms should be open to the idea of purchasing work-from-home items like furniture, computer monitors, and other equipment for employees.
There is nothing new about employers purchasing work-from-home items for employees. Most law firms provide their employees with laptops that they can use to complete work tasks from pretty much anywhere. In addition, some employers take their commitment to virtual work a little further and are open to purchasing computer monitors, furniture, and other items needed to effectively work from home.
About five years ago, my brother worked at a financial company that allowed employees to work from home once a week. The employer bought computer monitors for my brother so that he could more easily see the spreadsheets and other financial documents he needed to review in order to successfully complete his job. The investment required to equip my brother with the monitors and other items needed to be more productive working from home cost only several hundred dollars, but this investment likely paid dividends in the output my brother was able to provide his employer and their clients.
There is no reason why more law firms could not make a similar investment in work-from-home items, which would empower employees to be more productive while working from home. Law firms already pay for their employees to attend conferences, comply with CLE rules, attend business development outings, and other professional development expenses. The several hundred dollars it would take to equip each employee to work from home would be just a drop in the bucket compared to all of these other costs.
In some instances, employees could really use the equipment firms would purchase in order to be productive at home. Many workers across the country are making do with whatever arrangement they have at home to perform work. Numerous individuals are working from the couch, and I have seen a few attorneys I know set up card tables and folding chairs in order to create makeshift home offices. Such arrangements are not ideal, since they do not provide workers the best opportunity to type and be effective at their tasks. In addition, and I am no expert, but sitting on a folding chair or in other arrangements can hurt your back and potentially cause health issues.
Employers may argue that it is up to employees to create a proper home office so that they can be productive at their jobs and they can always come to the office if they can’t work from home. However, some people simply do not have the money needed to properly create a home office. It can cost hundreds of dollars or more to outfit a home office depending on the equipment a worker already has at home and what they may need to effectively complete their work. Many people are having a difficult time getting by in these tough times, and it may be onerous for some workers to pay for work-from-home items themselves. In addition, since there is less job security than there was in recent years, workers may not feel comfortable shelling out money to outfit a home office that may be useless if they lose a job. Employers should step up here by providing employees the support they need to thrive at virtual work. Arguing that employees can come to the office if they can’t be productive at home is no excuse because health worries and social distancing makes this impractical in most situations.
Some employers may argue that it is difficult for them to purchase all of this equipment for workers. Indeed, employers may believe it onerous to have such equipment returned after an employee leaves a firm and to process all of the requests to have work-from-home items paid for by a law firm. However, the amount of money needed to outfit most home offices is relatively small, and if law firms are so worried about practicalities, they can just let workers keep the items when they leave the firm. Indeed, I have heard of employers doing this in the past, since some employers do not care about recouping the several hundred dollars of work-from-home items they may have paid for an employee. Maybe employers can emblazon any work-from-home equipment with their firm’s name like they do for other swag so that even if an employee keeps the items, the firm gets free advertising!
All told, partners should not lament a reduction in productivity during the pandemic unless they have done everything needed to support the virtual work of their employees. Paying for work-from-home items could help employees be more productive and assist workers at a time that they could really use the support. Although some practical matters need to be hammered out, this should not keep more firms from paying for work-from-home items needed to boost the productivity of virtual workers.
Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.