Prioritising workplace mental health – we can do better, so let's do it

It’s time to do better when it comes to the culture in law and find ways to incentivise legal workplaces to prioritise the mental health of people in their organisations, which is the theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day.

There has been a lot of discussion in recent weeks about the increased fining powers of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the extra contributions needed for the compensation fund to pay clients affected by the collapse of Axiom Ince. These sanctions are responding to management failures after the event. While paying fines or topping up a big hole in the compensation fund may function as a deterrent – since firms will want to avoid the significant reputational damage as well as the financial hit - they are effective only when accompanied by consistent and transparent enforcement.

Fining singles out those individuals or organisations that have been ‘caught’; it doesn’t necessarily recognise that there may have been systemic failures that led to these breaches. Punishing the wrongdoers could send a message to the public: ‘It’s them, not us; we have dealt with the bad apples’, perhaps a bit like putting criminals outside the city walls in medieval times. Identifying the weaknesses in the system that led to these breaches should be the priority.

At LawCare, we strongly advocate for a preventative approach to workplace mental health. We have enough data and evidence that makes it clear that accepted working practices in law – long hours, poor work life balance, low psychological safety, lack of supervision, low investment in people management, and cultures where bullying and harassment go unchecked - are key factors that undermine mental health in workplaces. These factors can also foster cultures where compliance and professional responsibility are weakened, as mistakes or breaches of rules and procedures may result from pressures to cut corners to meet deadlines, achieve billing targets, or respond to client demands.

Take the increasing focus on working long hours, which is one factor that can undermine mental health. It is important to foster a healthy working hours culture in law, but to be effective, there needs to be a shift away from the prevailing reward mechanism that still incentivises putting the hours in to move up the ladder and earn bonuses.

To maintain and build the public’s trust and confidence in the legal profession, we need to invest collectively across the sector in fostering a culture in law that is firmly rooted in ethical behaviour and professional responsibility. We must also actively mitigate workplace factors that can undermine this and put the wellbeing of our people first. There needs to be a consistent approach that starts in legal education, aligns with the transition into practice, and supports career progression. Key to this is preparing those coming into the profession for life in practice and effective people management once they are in.

Change won’t be driven by producing research recommendations, policies, or guidance, sharing them, and then hoping something will happen. To effect change, these need an agreed framework for implementation, a mechanism for delivery, and strong leadership. A collective commitment to action, a data driven approach, testing measures on the ground, learning what works, measuring impact, allocating human and financial resources, and holding leaders accountable are essential. Meanwhile, we can’t ignore what’s ‘burning on the deck’, such as the day-to-day stress and anxiety that significant numbers of people in our sector experience, and the stigma that silences many from seeking support. Ongoing support and compassion are a must.

The big question is: how can we incentivise the legal profession to prioritise mental health? How do we turn a vision into reality? It is the 64-million-dollar question, and I am not professing to have the answers. What I will offer is that it is time to summon the brave leaders who have the courage to speak about the uncomfortable truths, roll up their sleeves, and do something about them. This starts with being curious, asking questions, understanding the issues and confronting the naysayers. Leaders who recognise that measures that take a preventative approach to mental health concerns are an investment in the future and reputation of our profession.

In this era of transformational change in the way we work and the evolving expectations of legal professionals from clients, regulators and insurers, we need to lift our eyes to the horizon and work out where we need to be in 5 to 10 years’ time and what we can do now collectively across education, regulation and practice to empower the long term change we want to see.

Elizabeth Rimmer is chief executive at LawCare