The organization pointed to a lack of support for mental health and wellbeing
The International Bar Association’s Professional Wellbeing Commission has found that workplace wellbeing challenges are still being downplayed by law firms, with limited promotion and support provided to improve mental health and wellbeing.
Findings published in the “Workplace Wellbeing Survey 2024 Analysis and Discussion” report showed that many law firms struggle to cultivate effective and proactive preventive policies against wellbeing issues. Line managers were found to be key to supporting workplace mental health and wellbeing; however, their recognition, support, and training in this area were inadequate.
The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the importance of mental health for 40.71 percent of survey respondents, but several identified a disconnect between quantitative action and “lip service” initiatives. For 62.56 percent of respondents, their organizations included wellbeing and good mental health schemes in their organizational strategies; however, just 39.21 percent reported that organizations actively monitored and reviewed the success of implemented programs. Respondents also found that the right type of engagement to execute plans was lacking.
“A growing body of research evidence points to the strong links between employee wellbeing and key business outcomes such as recruitment, retention and performance. The report demonstrates that what people think are the drivers of workplace wellbeing, such as compensation, are not what are most predictive of wellbeing,” said Chris Owen, IBA professional wellbeing commission member, in a statement.
He noted that “a strong sense of trust, inclusion and belonging” were key drivers.
“Achieving this is to a large part dependent on the quality and effectiveness of managerial support and their willingness to proactively engage with individuals within the team or group. It is only with this proactive level of engagement that many of these individuals are willing to vocalise their need for help and support,” Owen said.
IBA professional wellbeing commission member Dr Emma Jones, who along with Owen was a principal drafter of the report, highlighted the important of management skills in law.
“The report’s findings emphasise the important role of individuals who have managerial responsibilities in law firms. Such individuals can have a significant positive impact upon the wellbeing of their colleagues. However, they are also vulnerable to wellbeing challenges themselves if they are not provided with the necessary training, support and resources to enable them to do this,” Jones said. “There is an old saying that individuals are often promoted because they are good lawyers, rather than good managers. To tackle the current wellbeing crisis in law, we need to ensure that management skills, particularly people skills, are fully recognised, valued and rewarded.”
Owen and Jones made the following recommendations to law firms and legal bodies:
The “Workplace Wellbeing Survey 2024 Analysis and Discussion” obtained responses from 236 IBA committee members worldwide in July 2024.
