Leaner staffing, larger workloads, riskier IT environments: There’s plenty to exacerbate the daily stresses on in-house legal departments.
At the same time, lawyers’ mental well-being often takes a secondary place to companies’ business needs, creating a difficult work environment for many lawyers whose health then suffers.
In response to the widespread stress and pressure many lawyers experience, the Association of Corporate Counsel has assembled a mental wellness toolkit with strategies to manage work-related stress and to maintain a healthier mental and physical condition.
A third of lawyers said their workplace has “a negative or extremely negative impact” on their well-being, according to a 2021 International Bar Association report on mental well-being in the legal profession.
“While many legal professionals relish tackling the intellectual and practical challenges involved in law, there is an increasing recognition that no one — regardless of their status, abilities and passion for their work — is immune from the potential negative consequences of experiencing such sustained levels of high demands,” according to the report, which was conducted over several months in late 2020.
A total of 3,256 responses were received to the IBA Survey of Individuals, with 186 responses received to the IBA Survey of Institutions.
“It is often challenging for the in-house counsel to incorporate well-being practices as the legal profession is geared towards increased work production rather than focusing on one’s own needs,” Jeff Compangano, general counsel at health insurer The Word & Brown Companies, said in the ACC’s associated materials.
Nearly 60% of chief legal officers said their workload has increased in the past year, and about one in five said they were unhappy with their work-life balance, according to the association’s 2024 CLO survey, released in January.
The toolkit comes with tips for in-house counsel. Among them:
- Be intentional: Plan time for sleep and exercise. Take regular short breaks during the workday.
- Prioritize and delegate, as appropriate.
- Limit off-hours emails.
- Use paid time off, and encourage team members to do the same.
- Build networks that can help you to manage “crises, adversity, setbacks, or perceived failures.”
The association developed the toolkit “in response to member feedback who identified well-being as a topic of importance for workplaces today,” said Maria Volpe-Viles, ACC’s associate vice president of education.
