“The leaders in our profession have a vital role – to grant permission for mental health and wellbeing to be a continuing conversation in their firms and organisations.”
By LSJ Staff -
A survey conducted by Meritas Australia and New Zealand has revealed most employees at small- and medium-sized law firms feel their mental health and wellbeing is important to their firm, and many believe there is an open-door policy which enables them to seek help.
The survey of 200 employees at Meritas member firms, from partners through to non-legal professionals, provides a snapshot of wellbeing within small- and medium-sized law firms – the largest category of employers in the Australian and New Zealand legal sector.
Respondents were asked questions about their work life, awareness and experiences with depression and anxiety, barriers to help-seeking behaviour, and attitudes towards and experiences with their employer’s mental health assistance program.
The survey revealed a high level of awareness of signs of depression and anxiety at small- and medium-sized firms. It also revealed a positive workplace culture is among the most important factors influencing help-seeking behaviour.
Most respondents felt the issue of wellbeing was important to their employer and many indicated there was an “open-door” policy or someone they could talk to at their workplace about personal and professional issues affecting performance.
When it comes to work life, most respondents said they found the demands of their work generally manageable.
Managing Partner of Swaab and Chair of Meritas Australia and New Zealand Regional Committee Mary Digiglio said law firms had done much to build a more resilient workforce in the past 10 years, but there was still a lot more work to be done to boost awareness and overcome barriers to help-seeking behaviour.
Chair of Meritas Australia and New Zealand Regional Committee Mary Digiglio
“Whilst the survey results reveal a very strong level of awareness, stigma and a fear of reaching out remains a critical barrier that hinders many people from seeking help,” Digiglio said.
“We each need to take responsibility to look out for each other and continue to nurture a supportive and open culture to reduce the prevalence of mental illness in the legal profession.
“The leaders in our profession have a vital role – to grant permission for mental health and wellbeing to be a continuing conversation in their firms and organisations.”
Partner of New Zealand-based Martelli McKegg Lawyers Melissa Higham said the tendency of legal professionals towards perfectionism and a high-achiever mentality, as well as the stress of everyday work-life including demanding workloads and high client expectations, were factors that could put legal professionals at a greater risk of mental illness.
“We need to ensure that staff have adequate education and training about risk factors and how to identify if someone is experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety,” Higham said.
“The wellness survey is an important resource which could assist all small- and medium-sized law firms to better direct their efforts to support the mental health and wellbeing of staff.”
Legal practice consultant Sue-Ella Prodonovich of Prodonovich Advisory said more quantitative and qualitative research of wellbeing across the legal industry was needed to assist law firms to be better prepared for, and respond to, the stress associated with the profession.
Prodonovich, who has spent more than 20 years advising big and small law firms on business development, said Meritas had taken critical steps towards promoting greater openness and transparency about wellbeing in the legal profession.
“This should be fostered more widely across the whole industry to support and sustain long-term cultural change,” she said.
Prodonovich said a more collaborative industry-wide approach to harnessing data and insights could help legal services providers to gain a better understanding of wellbeing in the profession, the impact of work-life on their employees and ways to ameliorate the risks of mental illness as much as possible.
“Policies and employee assistance programs play their role in enhancing wellbeing and reducing mental illness in law firms. However, there also needs to be a top down approach to breaking down barriers such as stigma which prevents so many people from accessing help,” she said.
“More industry benchmarking could help build a more open and supportive culture in which all individuals take responsibility for changing attitudes towards mental health and wellbeing.”
Key survey statistics at a glance:
- 63 per cent of respondents said they had experienced depression, or they knew someone close to them in the workplace who had
- 85 per cent of respondents said they had experienced anxiety, or they knew someone close to them in the workplace who had
- 38 per cent of respondents said that if they were to experience feelings of depression or anxiety, they’d prefer to manage these feelings themselves
- 26 per cent said they were worried about asking for help or what others might think of them
- 21 per cent said nothing would prevent them from accessing help
- Most respondents said if their firm offered more dialogue, resources, training, and/or initiatives around well-being they would be likely to use them
- 83 per cent of respondents said wellbeing was an important issue at their firm
- 45 per cent said they felt there was an open-door policy at work or they could talk to someone at their workplace about personal and professional issues which affected their performance
- 52 per cent of respondents said they worked on average between 35 hours to 45 hours per week
- 21 per cent said they worked between 45 hours to 55 hours
- 94 per cent of respondents said they found the demands of their work generally manageable
Read the full report here:
