Authored By: Candace Whitman

The National Task Force on Lawyer Well-being recently composed a report about how there needs to be an increased focus on wellness in the legal profession.  Employee well-being does not just include physical and emotional state, but it also includes occupational, social, spiritual or purpose-driven, and intellectual or creative wellness.  Ensuring that lawyers are satisfied in these areas of well-being could prevent burnout, depression, anxiety, and other health problems caused by chronic stress.

Jeena Cho, a Legal Mindfulness Expert and co-author of The Anxious Lawyer, outlines a few of the actions that the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-being states can help legal employers improve the well-being of their firm.

One way to address well-being at your firm is to create a wellness committee or appoint a wellness advocate for your firm. The committee or advocate can plan wellness events, such as morning meditation events or fun runs/walks, and monitor the overall well-being of the firm.

The well-being committee should begin by gathering data on well-being at the firm. This could include an anonymous survey of employees about their views on well-being in their personal and work life.

Another way to encourage all aspects of wellness at your firm is by creating a supportive social environment for employees who are struggling with one or more areas of well-being.

To read the full report by The National Task Force on Lawyer Well-being, click here. To read Jeena Cho’s article on the report, click here.

Photo Credit: Edite Artmann