You have 0 free articles left this month.

Lawyers Weekly - legal news for Australian lawyers

Powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA
lawyers weekly logo
Advertisement
Corporate Counsel

Aussie counsel struggling with workplace adjustments

Relative to their global counterparts, in-house lawyers in Australia are finding being away from the office and achieving work-life balance tough as the pandemic continues.

November 10, 2020 By Jerome Doraisamy
Aussie counsel struggling with workplace adjustments
expand image

Global legal recruitment firm Taylor Root has just released its “2020 Global In-House Market Report & COVID-19 Impact Survey”, which outlines the effects of and opportunities emerging from the past year for legal counsel around the world.

The survey found that, more so than corporate counsel anywhere else in the world, Australian professionals are missing the office environment and social nature of the workplace.

Half (50 per cent) of Australians surveyed reported missing the professional environment compared to 39 per cent of corporate counsel globally. Australians appear to be missing it much more than global counterparts, with those in the UK (39 per cent), Europe (36 per cent), Middle East (42 per cent), Asia (41 per cent) and North America (36 per cent) coping much better with the uprooting of one’s daily physical workspace.

The survey further found that it has been much trickier for Australian corporate counsel to balance their personal and professional existences since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Globally, one-third (34 per cent) of in-house lawyers have experienced difficulty striking the right balance, but in Australia, this was the case for 42 per cent of respondents.

Only those in North America (45 per cent) and the Middle East (44 per cent) have found it trickier than Australians, but those in the UK (35 per cent), Europe (27 per cent) and Asia (35) have found it easier to strike the right balance.

The report also found that two in five (40 per cent) of legal teams have seen an increase in their workloads, with most of those witnessing such an uptick in work uncertain about how long they will have to endure it.

It further revealed that corporate counsel in Australia have not seen their personal earnings impacted as badly as their global counterparts since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.

You can email Jerome at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

You need to be a member to post comments. Become a member today
Got a tip for us?
If you have any news tips or stories to share, feel free to send them our way.
lawyersweekly jobs image
lawyersweekly jobs
Discover the latest legal jobs
Find Australian legal jobs, employment & career opportunities
Momentum Media Logo
Most Innovative Company