b'PEOPLE| LEGAL SECTOR| 2022SUSTAINABILITY INSIGHTFLEXIBLE WORKING Australian SituationThe provision of flexible working options has a significant impact on enabling improved work-life balance and gender equality outcomes in the workplace.Over the last ten years, there has been a significant increase in the number of professions and organisations that have implemented policies, systems and technology that support flexible working arrangements. This has not only benefitted employees that need greater flexibility to manage a range of personal priorities and responsibilities, but employers have also benefited from the attraction and retention of high-quality talent, reduced recruitment costs, increased capability within the organisation and consistent delivery of service to customersHistorically, flexible working was often accepted in principle; however, in reality only infrequently adopted by a minority of staff, for temporary arrangements or for ad-hoc reasons. A Bain and Co report from 2016 showed that men who worked flexibly said they didnt feel supported by senior staff and that their flexible work arrangements were viewed negatively by peers and managers. The values and the organisational culture did not truly integrate flexible working, and many firms did not have the systems in place or the trust required to make the concepts work on such a massive scale. Supporting this cultural change is especially important to men. If men are to contribute more significantly to unpaid commitments, which women currently lead, their adoption of flexible working will need to improve. https://www.wgea.gov.au/topics/gender-equality-and-menOne of Australias most important strategies to protect people and manage the spread of COVID has been to close non-critical workplaces and for these people and organisations to operate from their homes. This shift allowed many businesses to continue and has reduced higher levels of unemployment and accompanying issues. Over the last three years, most law firms have found ways to successfully support their clients and employees, maintain commercial viability and, for many, to even grow their businesses. Flexible working programs have provided organisational resilience and commercial continuity. There is little doubt that the ability of firms to transition to remote working so quickly was more seamless than it would have been as little as five years ago. During this time, investment in developing the technology and processes to support flexible working has improved dramatically and enabled many firms to quickly expand their working-from-home option as circumstances dictated.With the recent conclusion of mandatory isolation and directions to work from home the level of workplace occupancy is on the rise. Still, there is little doubt that the COVID pandemic has caused long-term structural approaches to flexible work that will see a shift toward higher remote working for those in the legal profession. This continuing evolution of flexible working will be felt at both a personal and professional level.Legal Sector Situation Before COVID, we understood that flexibility had become increasingly important to law firm staff as they sought to balance competing life opportunities and priorities. We observed that increasingly Australian law firms were successfully adjusting the way they worked and their systems, which allowed people to contribute effectively and efficiently to their firm by providing more time and location flexibility.During the rapid expansion of flexible working arrangements, many assumptions and perceived pain points have been tested and found to be overstated or manageable by organisation-wide commitment, flexibility and adaptation.FLEXIBLE WORKING PROGRAMRETURN TO WORK AFTER MATERNITY LEAVE YES YES NO 100%90%10%24'