Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Health / Wellness, Money

Why $180k Is The Wrong Way To Motivate Associates And Attract Top Talent

Perhaps law firms should start thinking more holistically about what associates want in a workplace -- beyond the big paycheck.

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Jeena Cho

Jeena Cho

All the recent headlines about law firms increasing associate salary to $180,000 makes me wonder, what do the associates give up in exchange for that higher salary? While the other BigLaw firms scramble to match Cravath’s salary, what’s missing from the conversation is this — does the increased monetary compensation translate into attracting and retaining top talent?

It seems to me, throwing out an outrageous salary to attract and retain talent is an outdated model for building a successful business. What the data indicates is that what Millennials actually want isn’t a bigger paycheck but rather, finding meaning, purpose, and satisfaction in the work that they do. I actually do not believe these are traits that only Millennials seek. Of course, everyone wants to feel a sense of purpose in their work, however, Millennials are more willing to leave their job in order to find it.

According to The Deloitte Millennial Survey 2016:

Forty-four percent of Millennials say, if given the choice, they would like to leave their current employers in the next two years. A perceived lack of leadership-skill development and feelings of being overlooked are compounded by larger issues around work/life balance, the desire for flexibility, and a conflict of values.

My Inbox is full of incredibly unhappy attorneys in Biglaw who are looking for an escape. It’s unfortunate because there is so much data about how to create a better workplace that uses the intrinsic motivation of its employees rather than extrinsic motivation (such as higher salary).

As discussed in this FastCompany article, “conventional wisdom holds that if only we pay workers enough, they’ll be productive. There may be more to it, though. Recent research hints there’s a link between employees’ happiness and their productivity at work.”

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Google is a company known for making employee satisfaction a priority. Laszlo Bock, the Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google wrote a book, Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead. Google isn’t shy about discussing this issue.

At Google, we know that health, family and wellbeing are an important aspect of Googlers’ lives. We have also noticed that employees who are happy … demonstrate increased motivation … [We] … work to ensure that Google is… an emotionally healthy place to work.

Lara Harding, People Programs Manager, Google.

Another company that is putting a heavy emphasis on employee wellness is Ernst and Young:

Supporting our people must begin at the most fundamental level – their physical and mental health and wellbeing. It is only from strong foundations that they can handle … complex issues.

Matthew Thomas, Manager – Employee Relations, Ernst and Young.

Law firms must start focusing on creating a better work environment and stop viewing happiness and satisfaction as things that can be fixed with higher salaries.

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Although law is usually slow in adoption, law firms are recognizing this reality that employee satisfaction, happiness, and wellness matters.

Recently, Kirkland & Ellis started offering mindfulness training, firmwide. Partner Linda Myers, who sits on Kirkland’s 15-member management committee, shared the reason for the mindfulness program:

The business case for the program dictates that healthier employees are more productive, making “them better for your army, if you will,” Myers said. Young lawyers now stay at firms for shorter periods than previous generations…

Google also offers mindfulness training to its employees as part of their wellness program. The program was so successful that it is now an independent company known as Search Inside Yourself and affectionately called “SIYLI.”

As Bock explains in a recent podcast episode of Hidden Brain, at Google, the basic belief for creating a happier workplace is this: it starts with a presumption or an assumption that people are fundamentally good and giving people a sense of ownership creates a more caring environment.

Bock shared:

[W]e have a lot of vehicles where people can exert their freedom, feel ownership for things. We give them a lot of channels to express voice, whether it’s through, the particulars ways we do surveys or ask people for input, but also by encouraging people to feel like the company is less hierarchical.

Of course, employers aren’t solely responsible for employee’s sense of happiness, belonging, and purpose. There are many simple and practical ways for you to increase your own own feeling of happiness at the workplace. According to Shawn Anchor, author of The Happiness Advantage:

Research suggests there are some simple ways employees can boost their own happiness, like helping out co-workers, meditating for at least two minutes every day, and reflecting on three things to be grateful for at work.

Perhaps law firms should start thinking more holistically about what associates want in a workplace — beyond the big paycheck.

I want to hear from you! What is your law firm doing to increase work satisfaction? What are your thoughts about happiness at work? I invite you to drop me an email at hello@jeenacho.com and share your thoughts.

P.S. I am offering a 1-hour Webinar on June 27th: Simple Steps For Bringing Mindfulness and Meditation Into Your Law Practice. You’re invited.

Jeena Cho is the author of The Anxious Lawyer: An 8-Week Guide to a Joyful and Satisfying Law Practice Through Mindfulness and Meditation (affiliate link). She is a contributor to Forbes and Bloomberg where she covers diversity/inclusion, resilience, work/life integration, and wellness in the workplace. She regularly speaks and offers training on women’s issues, diversity, wellness, stress management, mindfulness, and meditation. You can reach her at hello@jeenacho.com or @jeena_cho on Twitter.

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