what does の方 here mean?

Question

会社員の方の月給すべて競馬に賭けてみた!

I wonder, is の方 really necessary here? what meaning does it add?

Answer 1

This Aの方【ほう】 means "A's side" or "the one concerning A (among the two)". This type of 方 is usually not strictly necessary, but it conveys the message that there are two similar things, and that it is A (and not B) that is being referred to. In this case, even without seeing any further context, I can tell that he has two ways of earning income, and it's the one he earns as an office worker that he is talking about in this sentence.

• 佐藤さんが来ました。
  Sato-san came.
• 佐藤さんの方が来ました。
  (Not Tanaka-san but) Sato-san came.

But also note that ほう can sometimes be used quite meaninglessly. See: 〜ほうを as in 準備のほうを