All work and no play culture upsetting work life balance for City law firm employees
City law firms need to reform their long hours culture or risk losing their competitive edge when recruiting the best talent.
New research, “Legal Lives: Retaining Talent through a Balanced Culture”, took place among fee-earners at 13 City law firms.
It identifies cultural barriers within law firms to balanced working, and recommends greater use of home and remote working. It found the perception that excellent client service is a barrier to balanced working is not reflected in reality, since clients are likely to support balanced working and recognise the benefits it brings.
Fee-earners who sought more balance wanted more control over non-work aspects of their lives but did not necessarily want to reduce their working hours.
Paul Lee, senior partner at Addleshaw Goddard, which commissioned the research with Working Families, says: “Work-life balance was, and continues to be, consistently identified as one of the most challenging issues affecting retention in the legal environment.”
Alison Pendleton, business director, Hays Legal, says: “From our point of view, it is one of the most important things.
Quality of work is the most important factor for candidates, and the next thing is work life balance. Salaries have gone up so much, even at a junior level, that money is no longer an issue, but people want to know they will have a reasonable life.”
Candidates tend to migrate more commonly from large firms to smaller firms, where they can expect more flexibility, as opposed to moving in the other direction, she says.
“City firms say they are doing more, but in our experience they are still not keen on job-sharing or flexible working, unless it is a very valued member of the team.”
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