After a particularly stressful day, the idea of hurling the telephone across the room or dropping the computer out of the window may seem attractive.

At this point, a spot of exercise might calm those frazzled nerves.

So the solicitor heads off for a three-mile jog followed by a leisurely swim.

On the way back he buys a birthday card for his mother-in-law and drops off his decidedly creased suit at the dry-cleaners before nipping off for a rather pleasant dinner with a convivial acquaintance whom he arranged to meet earlier.

And after that he can take the lift back to his desk and get really stuck into those files that were causing the stress in the first place.Of course, he will have to remind himself that eventually he should go home -- but that is an occupational hazard that will probably come as no great surprise.

And, although he may be putting in long hours, he can at least hope that his employer is making it as pleasant as possible for him to do so.

His firm is also probably extremely aware that it needs to keep offering him a competitive benefits package if it is to stop him being poached by the competition.Benefits today take many forms, from the basic, such as season-ticket loans, to the more exotic, such as free use of in-house swimming pools.Top of the list tends to be health.

John Barnard, director of human resources at Clifford Chance -- one of the biggest players when it comes to benefits -- says that one of the major bonuses of working for his firm is free healthcare, courtesy of Private Patients Plan.

Also on offer, after a couple of years with the firm, is a choice of two pension plans.Then there is the firm's rightly famous restaurant.

'It is good,' says Mr Barnard.

'It seats around 200 to 300 people at a time.

The firm subsidises it -- effectively the individual pays for the cost of the food and the firm pays for the cost of the restaurant.' And, if they so desire, employees can have breakfast, lunch and dinner in their in-house eaterie.The same is true at Slaughter and May, where the canteen, which has a high reputation among staff, is open from breakfast time until 10.30pm.

Approving talk of Allen & Overy's menu service also abounds.

But is this just a variant of Napoleon's famous quote about an army marching on its stomach? Is having a readily available source of tasty meals simply a flavoursome way of keeping staff on the premises? Mr Barnard says: 'If you are providing good-quality food at a reasonable price then people are likely to make use of that facility.

And it is also something that allows for a more efficient use of people's time'.

But he adds: 'I do not think you can force people to stay on the premises'.So, while coercion is not an issue, it must sometimes be hard for the most nomadic of employees at Clifford Chance or Slaughter and May to find a reason to stray from their building.

Their every need may not be catered for on the premises but most are.Still on the subject of food, for example, if Clifford Chance's employees do not fancy a full sit-down meal then there is an all-purpose option that might fit the bill.

Mr Barnard says: 'We have a shop where people can buy sweets, get their dry-cleaning done, their shoes mended or buy birthday cards and wrapping paper'.

And then, if an employee is worried that he or she might have overdone it in the restaurant or indulged in too many sweets from the shop, it is always possible to go and burn off a few calories.

Mr Barnard says: 'We have a swimming pool, which is free, and a gymnasium that is available to all staff.

We have a squash court, there are yoga courses, fitness courses, you can learn how to scuba dive -- although not to great depth, it is not a very deep pool'.'The gym and fitness facilities are very popular,' he adds, 'numbers of people using them have been going up.

In the region of 400 to 500 people may use the gym and pool per day.' And one gets the impression that the firm is pleased with this situation.

Mr Barnard says: 'Lawyers live a fairly sedentary life, our facilities help to encourage people to realise that exercise is a good thing.

Of course it is beneficial to the individual but it is also good for the firm to have its people feeling on top form'.As with most of its competitors, Clifford Chance requires its benefits package to keep staff on top form, happy and loyal.

Says Mr Barnard: 'It is part of a total package that provides people with the right physical environment, salary and benefits'.

Human resources departments among the UK's larger firms seem to agree on this key theme of having a competitive benefits package.It also needs to be adaptable.

Birmingham-based Wragge & Co offers employees a pension scheme, life assurance, long-term sickness allowance, corporate gym membership, plus interest-free loans to buy season tickets and private healthcare cover.

It is a pretty impressive selection, even though it may not quite compare with what is on offer at some of the capital's larges t practices.Patricia Southern, the firm's head of human resources, says: 'We review our benefits package on a regular basis.

We do not have people beating the door down saying we should do this or change that, but if over a period of time, a number of people came to me about the same thing, then I would look into it'.

Robert Halton, director of human resources at Dibb Lupton Alsop in Birmingham, adds that location is important.

'We have to be aware of local issues.

In London, a travel allowance is important.In Manchester or Birmingham that is less true.

In the capital, gym memberships tend to be more important because people have longer journeys in and out of work and are more likely to go to the gym before they go home; elsewhere they are more likely to take their exercise where they live.' Dibb Lupton, he adds, takes account of these factors and offers employees subsidised gym memberships, travel loans in London and car parking elsewhere.Mr Halton also expresses concerns that too many facilities on a firm's premises encourage people to work longer hours and may cause a blurring of social and working lives that might ultimately be counter-productive.

He says: 'We have just moved into a new office in Birmingham.

We have a coffee-bar in-house where people can go for a break or to have lunch.

We thought about having a restaurant but we decided that most people go out for lunch anyway and it was probably healthy for them to do that'.Of course, firms also need a fairly substantial building if they want to supply a really wide selection of benefits.

The London office of top US firm Mayer Brown & Platt lacks the necessary premises and takes a rather different angle on the subject of benefits anyway.

Sharon Ferguson, the firm's director of administration, says: 'The biggest incentive we offer is that we pay a large slab of money'.

But that is not to say that this is all employees receive.

'We carried out a major review of benefits about a year ago,' says Ms Ferguson.

'We wanted to see how we were placed in the market.

In terms of the insurances, we were at the top end.

Where we fall down is that we are unable to offer the facilities of a single-owned building such as Clifford Chance or Slaughter and May.' The firm has no restaurant or gym -- although it does offer discounted membership to a local facility -- and concentrates on other areas.

'There is a perception that people working for a US firm have to sign their lives away.

We look after people.

We have a lot of parties -- once a month we shut the office on a Friday evening and take it over for a party.'Mayer Brown seems to enjoy a festivity or two.

The partners throw parties; the Christmas bash is by all accounts extremely impressive and there is also a summer get-together in one of London's parks.

'This is a family day,' says Ms Ferguson.

'There are magicians for the kids and it is good for spouses who get to meet the person who has been keeping their partner in the office.'So does non-attendance at these many and varied functions lead to black marks? Not at all, says Ms Ferguson, adding that attendances are high.

'We have more emphasis on social activity than many firms,' she says.

'It is important -- because we have a smaller office -- that there is a friendly environment.' And, she adds, this approach seems to work.

'We have a great team.

People stay behind until the deal is done and pull together.

We have a real sense of teamwork and a healthy regard for each other.'