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Best
Practice #6
Develop
Individualized Schedules
A universally available policy cannot be one-size-fits-all, but
rather must provide enough flexibility to fit specific individual
situations. Flexibility applies not only to the total number of
hours worked, but also to when and where work can be done.
Law
firms that have implemented balanced hours programs have allowed
for a variety of successful arrangements, including, but not limited
to:
- Fewer
hours each day, with regular beginning and end times.
- Fewer
hours each week, with flexible hours in the office.
- Fewer
hours each year (e.g., litigators may take time off after working
long hours for weeks while on trial; corporate attorneys may
take time off between deals).
The
duration that an attorney may work a balanced hours arrangement
should not be artificially limited by time frames such as one
year or five years, but rather should allow schedules to evolve
as an attorney's personal needs and professional goals change.
Some attorneys may wish to work a balanced hours schedule indefinitely,
while others would prefer to work fewer hours for a few months.
Still others may want to work a reduced schedule for a few years,
and a different flexible schedule in later years according to
their family needs. Allowing employees to move between balanced
hours arrangements and to and from standard hours schedules without
fear of repercussion allows the firm and the employee to maximize
the retention benefits that balanced hours programs offer and
to provide more workable and realistic individual arrangements.
Work
expectations should be kept in line with both hours worked and
when they are worked. If an attorney is working fewer hours, they
should be doing proportionally less work. The goal is to have
a policy that encourages discussion between attorneys and supervisors
about feasible workloads, expectations, and effective scheduling,
and supports the mutually agreed upon arrangement.
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