Be your own best friend

Only 36% of surveyed legal professionals, including lawyers, who are ages 18 to 34 said work had a positive effect on mental health. The percentage increased to 43% for those ages 35 to 44, 50% for those ages 45 to 54, and 62% for those ages 55 and older.

The impact of poor well-being is far reaching, according to the study, The State of Wellbeing in Law 2024. Nearly 19% of work time is affected by poor mental health, resulting in an average well-being loss of more than $33 million per firm.

The study is based on responses from 4,448 legal professionals in nine firms in the United States and the United Kingdom. The firms, identified as midsize in the study, had head counts ranging from 600 to 2,400.

Other survey findings:

• Only 30% of associates said they trust the senior leaders in their firms to make decisions that are in the best interests of employee mental health and well-being, compared to 45% of partners.
• 43% of associates said they would feel comfortable talking to managers about mental health and well-being, compared to 50% of partners.
• 71% of male partners expressed confidence in career progression, compared to 59% of female partners.
• 76% of male legal professionals reported high levels of “psychological safety,” meaning that they feel safe to address points of disagreement and talk about mistakes. Only 66% of females reported high levels of psychological safety.

“The findings are clear,” said Nick Taylor, the CEO and co-founder of Unmind, in a foreword to the study. “Box-ticking approaches to well-being aren’t enough, and solely placing the responsibility on employees to manage their mental health is neither sustainable nor effective.

“Successful, lasting change requires initiatives that reach every organizational level, starting with senior leadership,” Taylor added. “This is especially important in law firms, as employees perceive a lower commitment to well-being from senior leaders compared to other sectors.”

ANALYSIS: Attorneys Skip Classes on Well-Being at Work

New survey data from Bloomberg Law indicates that education on well-being, mental health, and substance use in the legal profession is available to attorneys—but attorneys aren’t taking part.

Bloomberg Law’s 2024 Attorney Well-Being Report, which combines data from the biannual Workload & Hours Survey and the inaugural Attorney Well-Being Survey, provides insights on what well-being resources are being provided by legal organizations to their employees.

The Workload & Hours Survey asked the respondents whether their organizations offered education on well-being or training for mental health first aid (which teaches attendees to recognize and respond to mental health and substance abuse issues).

The Well-Being Survey asked attorneys whether they were familiar with their jurisdiction’s lawyer assistance program. Lawyer assistance programs – also known as LAPs – are organizations that promote well-being for law students, lawyers, judges and other legal professionals. All states and many local jurisdictions have their own LAPs.  Even though most attorneys (73%) knew about their local LAP, over a quarter of respondents (27%) did not. Of those who knew about their LAP, only 1 in 10 had utilized their resources (including trainings) at some time.