Nearly half of lawyers admit to slacking off at work

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By Aishah Hussain on

Lack of motivation cited as top reason

Almost half of lawyers admit to slacking off at work, new research reveals.

The study, which surveyed 2,000 legal professionals, showed four in ten (42.9%) waste time at work.

When quizzed on why they slack off: a lack of motivation (57.1%); boredom (53.5%); the fact they’re not monitored (42.9%); and “I don’t like my job” (14.3%) came out as the top reasons.

The research also found that despite this high number of lazy lawyers, the vast majority (90.9%) consider themselves to be “successful professionally”.

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Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library, the online jobsite which conducted the survey, commented:

“Most legal professionals consider themselves successful professionally, but in my opinion, success includes being energised by what you do — and our results show the opposite. The legal sector is competitive and when your heart isn’t in it, you’re bound to find yourself flagging at work.”

Further findings include over a quarter (27.3%) of lawyers feeling they could get away with flagging at work. This figure significantly increased for senior employees at 81.8%.

The findings are sure to raise an eyebrow among the hardworking lawyers in the City. Legal Cheek’s Firms Most List shows the average junior lawyer working at a magic circle firm or London-based US outfit, can clock up to 12 hours a day.

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