ANALYSIS: Do Lawyers Ever Stop Working?

Lawyers do take days off—but a day off for an attorney doesn’t necessarily mean a day without work, according to a majority of the more than 1,300 attorneys responding to Bloomberg Law’s Workload & Hours Survey. Attorneys reported taking nine days off during the second half of 2023, but over three-quarters of the respondents said that they worked on about half (or more) of their days off.

These responses aren’t surprising—but there are signs of improvement. The percentage of those attorneys who say that they consider this inability to disconnect from work a “challenge” has trended down in the last two years—from 65% in H1 2022 down to 56% in H2 2023. While still over half of attorneys admit to having a hard time disconnecting, this decrease may be a silver lining in return-to-office policies, which have reinstilled some boundaries between the office and home.

Higher percentages of female respondents have consistently reported this challenge over the past two years. In the most recent survey, female respondents also reported taking, on average, fewer days off (eight) than male respondents (nine). Interestingly, on the days they do take off, a lower percentage of female attorneys said they did at least one work task when compared to male attorneys.

The responses suggest that female attorneys spend less time working on their days off. However, the data also suggest that working during their time off may be harder for female attorneys than it is for male attorneys.

Perhaps this is due to the disproportionate burden women have traditionally carried in terms of home responsibilities. When women lawyers take leave, they have other duties that keep them busy. Or perhaps they’re better at setting boundaries.

Bloomberg Law’s new Legal Professional Well-Being Survey is open until May 24, and we invite you to share your experiences.

Bloomberg Law subscribers can find related content on our  Surveys, Reports & Data Analysis page and our In Focus: Lawyer Well-Being page.

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