How a ‘Pampered Generation’ Can Cope When Office Perks Are Pulled

Lawyers whose law firms are scaling back on perks such as expensive lunches and high-priced outings may be experiencing the typical reaction.

First comes the fear, the Wall Street Journal reports. Workers worry that a perks pullback is an indication that layoffs are on the horizon. Initially they will work harder, but within a few weeks the burst of energy turns into malaise.

It doesn’t have to be that way. The best companies and firms will encourage get-togethers, even if the budget is gone to finance them, says John Weaver, a Waukesha, Wis., psychologist and business consultant. "They make it necessary for people to talk about what they're doing and how they're feeling, and you see this change in energy,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “They realize they're working alongside someone and they're not in it by themselves."

Workers need to show up for the get-togethers and figure out what kinds of cost-free things keep them happy and motivated. An attitude that “we’re all in this together” is also helpful, says Fred Mael, a psychologist and head of Baltimore consulting firm Mael Consulting.

"This is kind of a pampered generation," Mael told the newspaper. "People should not be interpreting that this is a backwards step in [their] career that we don't have free this and free that. Everyone in their homes is making the same decisions now. They're finding the things they thought were necessities aren't necessities."