b'8 Local Government Lawyermost desired working pattern would be inTable 7: Has your authority decided on its policy on working from home once the Covid the future, the most popular option was onepandemic is over? (Management survey)day a week in the office- not two, as was the desired pattern in the 2020 survey (Table 6).Twenty-one per cent of respondents saidNo - it is currently unclear what our working 14%they would prefer two days, and 22% saidarrangements will bethey wished to spend one day in the office per week. A further 13% said they would want toYes -it has outlined its plans but they are yet to be42%attend the office once a fortnight, and 10% said they wished to only do a day a month in the office. Just 2% of those asked if theyYes - it has decided on future policy 44%would prefer to work in the future said they wished to spend five days a week in the office.Commenting on this question, a significant number of lawyers said that they would alsoTable 8: If your authority has decided on its home working policy, for those staff that are like the flexibility to choose which days theyworking remotely, what will the typical working pattern be post-covid? (Management survey)spend in the office. I would like flexibility- so depending on work and what needed to be done in the office, 1 to 2 days a week, oneOther 21%lawyer said.Another said: Hybrid working is the best for flexibility and work-life balance. The only0%drawback is that you dont get the full office experience, as people sign up to different days, so you could go into the office on a10%Monday and hardly interact with anyone.So lawyers are strongly in favour of flexibility and of spending as few days in the31%office as possible, but is management in step?Not all Heads of Legal reported that13%their authorities have settled on a remote working policy- less than half (44%) surveyed reported that future policy was decided.8%Forty-two per cent said that policies have been outlined but are yet to be confirmed, and the remaining 14% reported that future18%arrangements were unclear (Table 7).Of those surveyed at councils that have decided on the future of remote working, 31% reported their local authority would requireTable 9: Is your department planning to increase or decrease its office space based on changes people in the office two days per week.it will make following the pandemic? (Management survey)Thirteen per cent of managers surveyed said their staff would be working one day a week in the office. Additionally, 18% reported that0%currently-remote staff would continue in full-time remote positions in the future (Table 8). 0%As the hours spent in-office look set to stay low, the office space available to legal32%departments is set to shrink too. Sixty-nine per cent of managers said their authority plans to decrease office space, 37% said space32%would decrease significantly (Table 9).While managers report that on average37%councils are leaning towards two days a week, it appears that in practice the rules are not setGo fully virtual 0%in stone. One head of legal noted: Staff who wish to work in the office may do so, others will only be in the office when necessary. For some jobs this may be full time, for most in legal services this will be for team meetings,'