In-house lawyers are so overworked that they would sacrifice a fifth of their salary in exchange for a four-day working week.
Two-thirds of 2,882 corporate counsel polled by legal recruiter Laurence Simons said the loss of income (representing about £16,500 of an average £82,500 salary) would be worth the extra day.
They claimed the use of smart phones and other communications technology was blurring the boundaries between work and rest, as their evenings and weekends were taken up with e-mails and other work-related communications. Carriers of smart phones had 13% more e-mails than those without, and spent two-and-a-half times longer checking their correspondence.
Naveen Tuli, managing director of Laurence Simons, said the increase in remote working has created an appetite for a “three-day weekend” because of the amount of work people are required to do outside the office.
“They also feel technology allows them to work more flexibly, as well as remotely, so the four day week has become more viable and would allow people to fit their work around their interests.”
Tuli says the survey results indicate that people are beginning to feel more secure in their jobs. “Employers now need to look at whether their current employment terms are flexible enough to satisfy this demand,” he adds.
