Posted by Sam Borrett, director of Legal Futures Associate Legmark
Borrett: People work harder when they’re happy
Law firms are obsessed with getting reviews from clients – and for good reason too. But how often are firms getting reviews from their employees? How much time and effort is invested in understanding the ‘temperature’ of the most important asset a business has – its people?
Having undertaken this type of staff survey work for some of our law firm clients in the past, we wanted to extend the opportunity for law firm employees across the UK, to have their say on what it’s like to work in the legal sector in 2025.
Some of the results might not be surprising, others are food for thought. The qualitative insights provided by the open-ended questions can be incredibly valuable for directors of law firms in how they address employee satisfaction as a way of increasing profitability – as numerous studies have proven.
Warwick University found that people work harder when they are happy. Oxford University showed a 13% increase in productivity when workers were happy. Plus, a happy workforce leads to reduced turnover and less money spent on recruitment.
So, what were the main findings from the survey we conducted earlier this year?
We identified five main themes from the open-ended questions in the survey, these were:
1. Positive culture and supportive teams are the standout strength
Most respondents said what they enjoy most is the people they work with. Words like ‘team’, ‘supportive’, ‘friendly’, and ‘colleagues’ dominate the positive comments.
The overwhelming impression is that the day-to-day working atmosphere is collegial and encouraging, even where other frustrations exist.
2. Flexibility and work-life balance are highly valued
A significant number praised flexible hours, hybrid working, and understanding management. This has become a key retention factor – those who feel trusted to manage their own time are far happier.
Work-life balance consistently appears as one of the main things people ‘like’ most.
3. Workload and stress are the biggest negatives
The most common complaint is high workload and pressure – long hours, unrealistic targets and not enough staff. This theme cuts across roles and firm sizes: people feel over-stretched and under-resourced.
4. Communication and management gaps cause frustration
Several respondents mention poor communication, unclear direction or inconsistent management support.
Staff often feel left out of decisions or unsure of priorities – this is an area where many firms could quickly improve satisfaction.
5. Limited progression and pay dissatisfaction persist
While less frequent than workload complaints, career development and pay come up often enough to be notable. People feel progression is slow or poorly structured, and some perceive pay as not keeping pace with responsibilities.
In short: Law firm staff generally like their colleagues and the flexibility they have – but feel overworked, under-communicated with, and uncertain about their long-term prospects.
The survey also contains over 20 statements across categories such as pay and benefits, work engagement, career development, management, and culture. The respondents choose whether they agree or disagree with the statements.
The statement that people agreed with the most was: ‘I get on well with my co-workers.’ The one they agreed with the least was: ‘I generally feel more productive working from home than in the office.’
Take from that what you will…
Respondents ranged in reasonably equal measures from assistants and junior fee-earners to partners and directors, and across a wide variety of legal services and law firm size.
To see the full survey results, visit the Legmark website.
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