b'BACK TO NAVIGATIONthat is likely to include much higher rates of flexible and remote working. While the step change to flexible working started with COVID, a need to attract, retain and motivate staff has provided more fuel for innovation and improvement of flexible work options.Ninety-seven per cent of firms provide paid parental leave for secondary carers in addition to their paid primary carer schemes. The amount of leave offered increased from an average of 5 weeks to 10 weeks with 25 per cent of firms providing equal amounts of leave to both primary and secondary caregivers (i.e. gender neutral) with up to 26 weeks to help both parents to more easily share the responsibility of parenting.We have seen a greater number of support programs to assist parents to better balance their family and work objectives.The percentage of women resigning or leaving a firm following parental leave is used by AusLSA as an indicator of the effectiveness of flexible working and other support arrangements available to successfully balance their family commitments with their careers. On average, only ten per cent of female legal staff from our reporting firms resigned during, or within six months after returning from parental leave. However, this is a slight increase from eight per cent in 2021.Challenges and OpportunitiesWe have been living some level of imposed flexible working for almost three years. COVID provided the opportunity but also a compelling motivation to re-evaluate the future of the work environment. With many people now regularly returning to their offices, it is critical that we review the benefits and the costs and consider strategies to blend home and office-based environments in a way that preserves the benefits we have created and addresses the stresses and inequality being experienced.Each firm will have a bell curve of employer preferences for ongoing flexible working arrangements. At one end there are some who want everything to go back to the way it was with extremely high office attendance. In the middle there is a large group who have experienced both the benefits of both remote working as well as working in the office. This group prefers a hybrid working week that is adapted to the needs of the employee and the needs of their work. Of course, there are also those employees at the far end who would prefer a life where they rarely attended a central office.Convincing evidence suggests that the tide of flexible working has turned and expectations from current staff and a competitive employment market have shifted dramatically. The COVID experience has shown that flexible working is effective and can become a normalised workplace behaviour. Now is the time to consult with employees to understand what they love and want to keep versus what has been challenging and is not sustainable. Firms must understand what balance should be retained and how flexible working policies can enable a new normal that supports employee and business goals.Of course, to address the role of flexible work and working from home we also need to address the problems that are experienced by some people, including managing the blurring boundaries between work and home, feelings of isolation and longer hours. Early information suggests some firms were less prepared for the negative consequences on the workforce. The need to respond to the competing social and economic pressures of living in a flexible working world, along with the emotional strain associated with the fear and uncertainty about the future, have added to the emotional stresses of a high performing legal practice. See more in the Mental Wellbeing section of this report.Firms will need to continue to evaluate the effectiveness of many of their management systems to ensure they support the business outcomes of law firms as well as the wellbeing and careers of staff working flexibly.Issues that will require review include project managementdata and file sharing and securityperformance management and recognition (including remuneration and promotion) mental and physical wellbeingdiversity, accessibility, and equalitycontinuation of non-core programs such pro bono, charitable giving, indigenous reconciliation consultation, engagement and communication around business strategy and program development creating appropriateworking from home environments27'