FOMO for Lawyers – The 5 Most Common Benefits You Might Not Be Getting
FOMO: anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on social media
After the questions about salary, many lawyers are interested in finding out what else is “out there”. This might be because you’ve only worked at one firm and wonder if things are the same elsewhere, maybe you’re not sure if what your firm is currently offering aligns with the market, or maybe it’s just for sheer FOMO.
Squarely inside the “what’s out there” category fall perks – those non-salary benefits that some firms seem to offer in spades, and others seem to completely ignore.
In our 2019 Legal Salary Survey we asked that exact question: what does your firm offer beyond a salary?
And the results are now in, so here (from 5th to 1st) are the top 5 perks that firms around Queensland are offering to their professional staff.
5 – Social Club
In the interests of furthering firm culture, a social club can certainly play an important role. It can also be a place where people get to interact without being in work mode and develop the multi-faceted relationships that can assist your promotion opportunities.
Although sometimes it costs a couple of dollars to join, many of our respondents identified the social club as a benefit that their firms offered.
If you like the people you work with and enjoy the occasional out-of-office interaction, then a social club is certainly a good way to achieve it.
4 – Further Education
We suspect that further education, in the eyes of our survey respondents, was largely connected with seminar attendance or paying for tertiary courses (like a masters).
But it seems that many firms in Queensland are offering their staff an opportunity to expand their knowledge, develop their skills, and take courses relevant to their employment at the firm’s expense.
So, if you’re up for a bit more study, is your firm going to cover the costs?
3 – Phone
We admit to a question mark on this one – is a phone really a benefit when it’s provided by your firm?
After all, while it’s nice to text your friends and surf Facebook on the bus on the way home, it also means that you can get calls and emails from your boss and clients… all the time.
But, while the way lawyers use mobile phones might need some thought, it’s clear that many firms are providing mobiles to their lawyers as part of the deal.
Which begs the question… who’s paying for your mobile data?
2 – Discounted Legal Work
Wills, enduring powers of attorney, conveyancing and much more – you probably know already that legal work is expensive, and for a junior lawyer still working their way up the ranks might be unapproachable.
Having discounted or free legal work is a great opportunity to ensure that you make good decisions about life planning and purchases along the way. Plus, it can be a good opportunity to expose you to a new practice area and new people inside your firm if you don’t work in those areas already.
Of our respondents, and just barely avoiding first place, 35.1% identified discounted legal work as a benefit that their firm offered.
And now… drum roll please…
Winner at #1 – Laptop Computers
Well here it is – the number one “benefit” that firms offer to their lawyers, according to our survey respondents at least, is a laptop.
And much like the mobile phone above, we can’t help but wonder whether a laptop is really a benefit…
But without a doubt a laptop is a valuable piece of equipment, and borderline essential to modern professional life. We’re sure that many lawyers will use it to full advantage in their careers, and it’s an added bonus if your firm provides the hardware for you.
Want the Full List?
If you’re interested in the full list of benefits identified by our survey respondents, as well as average salary ranges for Queensland lawyers, career planning and advice and a raft of other material – don’t forget to download our 2019 Legal Career and Salary Guide today.