Happiness in law

What drives happiness in the legal sector?

At Simmons, we believe in thinking smarter to work happier. We wanted to find out what drives happiness for people working in law and what this means for their long-term careers in the legal sector.

So, we surveyed 1600 people working in law firms around the world, spanning a variety of roles (from trainee to partner), locations, age groups, and demographics.

Watch our video and read our key highlights below:

Our happiness in law highlights

It’s an exciting time for those working in law, with conversations about flexible working and work-life balance very much on the agenda.

With this new piece of research, we’re adding another dimension to this debate; the importance of happiness in law.

Millennials

The data generated by this survey challenges the prevailing wisdom that millennials are miserable at work, with 81 per cent of this generation reporting that they’re happy in the legal sector, compared to just 66 per cent of legal staff over 45.

These figures show that the younger generations are both happier at work and more content with their work-life balance in the legal sector.

Generations on the move

While we found that over two-fifths of partners are planning to leave their current firms in the next five years, there are some differences between generations here.

For example, millennials are more likely to be on the lookout for new jobs, with 49 per cent responding that they’re looking to move firms within the next five years.

Location matters

Our survey also showed that the experience of a career in law vastly differed by country and region, with the UK and France demonstrating the lowest prevalence of happiness.

Staying power

Those in Luxembourg have the greatest staying power, with 73 per cent hoping to remain with their current firm for over six years, compared to just 37 per cent in Ireland.

The survey also revealed important values driving happiness across legal workforces, with over three quarters saying it’s more important for them to work for a supportive and inclusive firm than one that pays very high salaries.

This trend was less prevalent in US-headquartered firms, where 68 per cent responded that culture is more important than pay.

We also found huge national variance in how employees in law feel at work around the world, with a quarter (25 per cent) of French respondents telling us that they’re unhappy, compared to just 1 per cent of German respondents.

More specifically, 22 per cent of French law respondents say they are unhappy with their work life balance, while just under a quarter don’t feel supported in their career and learning and 25 per cent don’t have a constructive relationship with their managers.