I will start by stating the obvious. The legal industry is incredibly fast moving. Although the legislative process itself can be a slow one (for example one of the key pieces of legislation in commercial real estate is from 1954…not exactly recent), it is not unusual for transactions to take just a few days to complete from start to finish.
With that naturally comes pressure. Pressure to get things done quickly, pressure to get things done right, pressure to get things done the way the client wants, pressure to time record, pressure to stay on top of any legislative changes…I could go on! Don’t get me wrong – pressure can be a great tool for many of us as it helps us strive and challenges us to progress in our development. But it is inevitable that continued pressure can become too much, especially when combined with perfectionism and a need to be in control (two very common characteristics I have found in the lawyers I have come across in my career).
Legal burnout
The World Health Organization describes burnout as feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job and reduced professional efficacy. Like many, burnout was not a phrase that was in my vocabulary until a few years ago, and in fact was something that I learnt about very much after I experienced it for myself. For me I felt a need to increase my professional efficacy rather than reduce it, which I assume now was a way of avoiding drawing any attention to how I was feeling. Those in the legal industry are (in my opinion anyway) specifically trained to come across as being cool under pressure. I remember lawyers once being described to me as swans – looking calm and graceful on the water but paddling like there is no tomorrow beneath the surface. This can make it extremely easy for people to hide what they are going through and pretend that all is well, making it in turn very difficult for our colleagues, friends and families to know that anything is wrong.
Feeling alone when you are going through a period of mental ill health can make things so much worse. Looking at your peers and seeing that they appear to be handling all of the stresses of the job and modern life can make you feel like a failure or weak for not being able to cope. This is true of any industry, but the legal industry is not one that traditionally has recognised how difficult those within it may find their day-to-day role.
What can firms do to ease the burden
One of the easiest and most effective initiatives that a firm can implement to help all staff’s mental health and wellbeing is to create a culture that is open to discussing the challenges that individuals may face. This is something that needs to be done consistently, which is no easy task in a very fast-moving environment.
Organising regular webinars about mental health and wellbeing topics is a great place to start as it will help to educate staff as to the types of issues that may be faced and will naturally encourage conversations about those topics around the firm.
It is also important to regularly remind staff of the various support options available to them via the firm. For example, a lot of firms have employee assistance programmes or private medical insurance cover that can fast track those with mental health issues quickly into suitable support and treatment programmes, a benefit that can make a huge difference to someone, especially when they are on a long waiting list to access support via the NHS.
From my perspective though, encouraging individuals within the firm to share their experiences (good and bad) is incredibly effective in supporting colleagues’ mental health and wellbeing. After returning to work following some time off in 2020, I decided to launch a weekly blog at work, focusing on providing colleagues with tips on how to look after their mental health and wellbeing, but also sharing my own mental health journey. The response I received was overwhelmingly positive. Many colleagues reached out to say that they had gone through something similar, which immediately flooded me with relief – it wasn’t just me experiencing these things. I have since expanded the blog to include video interviews with senior members of the firm, discussing key topics such as imposter syndrome, depression, infertility and miscarriage. I appreciate this is not an easy initiative to introduce as it does require some brave individuals to discuss these topics, but doing this has really helped to open a dialogue around sensitive subjects at all levels of the firm. This in turn has helped to demonstrate a willingness to discuss difficult topics in the workplace, creating a greater level of openness and inclusivity to support everyone’s mental health at work.
Alice Donzelot is a senior associate at Stevens & Bolton LLP
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