Half of women in law say working patterns unsustainable for their health

New research from the Next 100 Years project, supported by LawCare, RPC and Goodbody Wellness, surveyed over 500 women in the profession in England and Wales and found that 85 per cent had experienced health and wellbeing issues over the past five years that had impacted their work. This included stress (83 per cent) burnout (53 per cent) and anxiety (71 per cent) with many respondents dealing with multiple issues.

Almost a third (29 per cent) had been affected by the menopause and a quarter by menstruation related symptoms, while baby loss, fertility issues, and pregnancy-related symptoms were also cited. The majority, 70 per cent, had experienced frequent, ongoing exhaustion or low energy, not fully relieved by rest over the last year.

Despite the scale of the health and wellbeing issues experienced, 43 per cent of women said they did not feel they could openly discuss them at work without negative consequences. Less than half (42 per cent) felt their employer took the health and wellbeing of female employees seriously and a third felt it was not a significant focus for their organisation.

One legal director said: “The main thing is that you feel you just have to get on with it and not complain or draw attention to anything that might make the partners see you as trouble or difficult. When you are at a certain age you feel vulnerable and the constant pressure to demonstrate your value to the business.”

A partner said: “I was forced to take time off this year due to burnout following a close family bereavement. I could not function and my GP insisted I was not fit for work. Still, I felt incredibly guilty at leaving colleagues to pick up my work. A thinly veiled threat of severe financial penalty was made if I didn’t meet my annual target. I do not believe my organisation would treat employees in this way, but partners are seemingly expected to be bulletproof.”

The biggest health and wellbeing challenge identified was balancing work with caring responsibilities (cited by 42 per cent). Poor leadership or line management came a distant second (16 per cent) followed by long hours and a lack of understanding of women’s health issues (both selected by 11 per cent of respondents).

The majority of legal workplaces appear to be offering support but often this is not being accessed or is seen as a ‘benefit’ rather than being integral to firm culture.

• Employee assistance programmes were reported by 60 per cent of respondents
• Over half (58 per cent) offered confidential counselling services
• Access to mental health first aiders was provided by 61 per cent
• Most offered flexible working options (80 per cent) with 41 per cent offering support for working parents
• Specific support for maternity returners was provided by 39 per cent. 

The report recommends reviewing billable hours models, the implementation and enforcement of menopause, fertility, and pregnancy loss policies, flexible working as default, structured support for maternity returners, extending paid carers leave and providing financial wellbeing support.

Dana Denis-Smith, founder of the Next 100 Years and CEO of Obelisk Support said: “These stark findings demonstrate the scale of the health and wellbeing issues women face and reflects the quiet, accumulated cost of years working in conditions that damage health, with insufficient support from employers. Many firms are taking health and wellbeing seriously but good intentions and wellness programmes are not enough.

“We need to see change in the underlying architecture – the hours, the billing model, the cultural expectations and the absence of targeted support.”