Burnout not only affects your colleagues’ desire to do legal work, but it may be hurting your law firm’s bottom line. That’s according to a recently released survey of more than 4,400 lawyers at several U.S. and U.K. law firms.

Conducted by Unmind, a B2B mental health platform, the survey found that firms are losing 10 cents of every dollar spent on salaries due to mental health-related absenteeism, attrition, and presenteeism. Presenteeism refers to employees who show up for work but find it difficult to function effectively due to illness, stress, burnout, or issues in their personal lives.

While the survey focused on firms larger than our traditional definition of “midsize”—firms with 20-150 lawyers—it identified several challenges that affect the entire legal industry, including high stress levels, a perceived lack of support from managers, and stigma surrounding mental health issues.

Stressed Out and Ready To Leave

The survey collected data on firms’ openness about mental health issues, how safe employees felt to discuss disagreements, firms’ commitment to employee wellbeing, job satisfaction, stress levels, and trust in senior leadership and supervising attorneys, among other issues.

Unmind found that nearly 1 in 5 law firm employees said their work was having a negative impact on their mental health. And on average, just under 20 percent of work time is negatively affected by poor mental health. As a result, turnover risk is high, with 12.5 percent of law firm employees saying they were considering leaving the legal industry in the next six months, the survey said.

“High job demands, characterized by unmanageable workloads and high client expectations, paired with low levels of support are linked to a range of negative wellbeing impacts,” the survey reported. “It’s also threatening employees’ ability to work effectively. For employees reporting high stress, only a quarter (27%) feel able to fulfill client demands and the expectations of their role.”

Associates and younger employees reported experiencing more stress and lower wellbeing. And less than one-third of associates said they trust senior leaders will make decisions with employee mental health and wellbeing in mind. Seventy-five percent of associates said burnout and mental health issues were the primary reasons for leaving their law firms, the survey said.

What Firm Leaders Can Do

The survey report makes the case that prioritizing mental health and well-being can have a positive impact on a firm’s financial prospects and should be integral to its business strategy. Firms can create workplace cultures that reduce stress and that are more supportive of employees’ mental health needs. In turn, this can have a direct impact on employee attitudes. In fact, the survey found that employees with supportive managers were nine times more likely to say their work had a positive impact on their wellbeing.

Dr. Nick Taylor, a U.K.-based psychologist and co-founder and CEO of Unmind, wrote in the report that the onus is on law firm leaders to go beyond “box-ticking approaches” and to take responsibility for helping employees manage their mental health. The report recommends that firm leaders:

• Balance Demands with Resources. Firms should acknowledge periods of high stress and encourage employees to rest during less-demanding periods. And they should identify and reduce unnecessary stressors including, “inefficient tools, excessive meetings, inflexible hours, and unclear job roles,” the report said. 
  
  
• Invest in and Integrate Support for Mental Health. Firms can move beyond traditional employee assistance programs and offer comprehensive resources that are easily accessible and promote a culture of openness around mental health issues.
  
  
• Make Mental Health Training Mandatory for Firm Leaders: Leaders often feel discomfort discussing mental health issues, the report said. They can overcome this through training and also by ensuring they prioritize their own mental health and model that behavior for their colleagues.

• Leverage AI to Manage Workloads: Artificial intelligence may be able to help curb excessive workloads. Firms should consider putting AI in the hands of employees “to consider how AI could support their work and wellbeing,” the survey said. 

• Create Additional Support for Higher-Risk Groups: Attrition risk is highest among younger employees and women. Among other initiatives, firms can promote wellbeing with mentorship programs, more flexible work and billing arrangements, and professional development opportunities designed to create a more inclusive and supportive workplace.

 “Successful, lasting change requires initiatives that reach every organizational level, starting with senior leadership,” Taylor said. “This is especially important in law firms, as employees perceive a lower commitment to wellbeing from senior leaders compared to other sectors…Senior leaders are key role models, and their dedication to wellbeing influences team health and firm success.”

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