
Working in the legal industry is demanding. With a culture where the extremes of the job are often applauded—late nights, tight deadlines, being constantly accessible by technology—it is little wonder that a quarter of junior lawyers have described their stress levels as severe, with one in 15 reporting that they had experienced suicidal thoughts. These shocking revelations in the Law Society Resilience Report 2019 (LSRR) sent ripples around the legal community (https://bit.ly/2GuWjS0).
Add in the challenges of the current climate and it is no surprise that 81% of firms in a Leading Minds’ survey reported increased requests from employees with their mental health since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.
Struggles with stress
Many solicitors are not simply experiencing stress, but struggling with it, which is going to have a huge impact on individuals’ health as well as a firm’s performance. Employees who are stressed are not working at their best. Not only is productivity significantly lowered, but