Mental health challenges are costing large law firms millions of pounds every year and reducing productivity by 19%, a report has indicated.
Researchers said most of the productivity losses were caused by ‘presenteeism’ – people working when their wellbeing is poor.
The most damaging drivers of poor mental health at work were stress, which had a negative impact on employees’ performance at work 44% of the time, closely followed by lack of fulfilment (43%) and lack of support from their firm (37%).
Researchers from UK-based mental health platform Unmind based The State of Wellbeing in Law 2024 on responses from over 4,400 legal professionals at nine large law firms in the US and UK.
On the financial cost of poor wellbeing, researchers estimated that the smallest firms surveyed, with an average of 600 staff, lost an average of £6.8m, the middle group of firms, with an average of 1,400 staff, lost £34m, and the largest, with an average of 2,400 staff, lost £65m. The average loss across all firms was £26m.
Researchers said that 69% of the average mental health-related annual loss per employee was caused by presenteeism, with over 19% caused by attrition (defined as employees’ self-rated intention to quit in the next six months due to poor mental health) and almost 12% by absenteeism.
On stress, researchers commented: “As with last year, stress levels are high for the legal sector. This increases the risk of attrition and the likelihood of mental health difficulties.
“High job demands, characterised by unmanageable workloads and high client expectations, paired with low levels of support are linked to a range of negative wellbeing impacts.”
Stress was “threatening employees’ ability to work effectively”, with only a quarter (27%) of those reporting high levels of stress feeling able to fulfill client demands and the expectations of their role.
“High job demands also correspond to poorer social wellbeing and lower fulfillment at work. This reflects that excessive workloads limit employees’ ability to develop professionally by building skills and networks.
“This, in turn, reduces engagement in positive aspects of organisational life, further compounding the negative effects on wellbeing.”
Meanwhile, 30% of employees did not trust “senior leaders to make decisions that prioritise employee mental health and wellbeing”, up from 19% last year.
But employees with supportive managers were nine times more likely to report that their work positively impacts their mental health and wellbeing.
Associates were more likely to experience difficulties with mental health than partners or other law firm staff, and only 43% said they would be comfortable talking to their managers about the issue, compared to half of partners and 61% of other staff.
Just 32% of associates said people “openly talk about mental health and wellbeing” in their firm, compared to 43% of partners and 56% of other staff.
The proportion of all staff at law firms reporting “high levels of psychological safety” – where they feel secure in taking risks, acknowledging mistakes or concerns and engaging in difficult conversations – was higher among men than women – 76% compared to 66%.
Only 35% of female lawyers said that work had “a positive impact on their mental health”, compared to half of male lawyers.
Recommendations included law firms better balance demand with resource to effectively manage stress, “invest in and integrate” professional wellbeing and mental health support, make mental health “a compulsory part of leadership development”, and better support female and younger employees.
Unmind chief executive Dr Nick Taylor said: “Despite increased wellbeing investment, issues like absenteeism, burnout, and attrition are still rising in the legal sector…
“The findings are clear: box-ticking approaches to wellbeing 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 organisational level, starting with senior leadership. This is especially important in law firms, as employees perceive a lower commitment to wellbeing from senior leaders compared to other sectors.”
Dr Taylor added that artificial intelligence (AI) could be part of the solution. “From managing workload, to reducing stress, and providing personalized mental health resources, effective use of AI can lead to healthier, more efficient workplaces.”
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