Prioritizing Mental Health At Work With A Different Kind of “Happy” Hour
Have an Employee Assistance Program? Check.
Have a policy explaining to employees that they can request reasonable accommodations for a physical or mental health disability and how to go about that? Check.
Trained your managers to recognize requests for accommodations? Check.
Talking with your teams about mental health? Communicating authentically about mental health in your workplace so that others feel psychologically safe to do the same?
Indeed, the pandemic ripped off the Band-Aid about that aspect of mental health. In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) reported that almost 41% of US adults are struggling with their mental health or substance use, double pre-pandemic reports.
Results from one (pre-pandemic) study states that nearly 85% of people say they’re uncomfortable discussing mental illness at work, and NAMI estimates that 8 in 10 workers with a mental health condition do not get treatment because of the shame and stigma associated with it. If people aren’t seeking treatment and are uncomfortable talking about mental illness at work, they sure aren’t seeking reasonable accommodations either.
But talking about mental health struggles? Being so vulnerable? At work? That’s a tougher item to check off the list. Yet, it is so critical. Especially at a law firm.
Talking about mental health is a business necessity for lawyers. Lawyers have always been susceptible to higher rates of mental health challenges, such as depression, addiction, and suicide, compared to the general population.
If we talk about it, do we look weak? Will people still trust our judgment?
Lawyers gotta lawyer so usually, I write in the context of managers who violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or fail to recognize requests for reasonable accommodations.
I write, too, about destigmatizing the whole idea of mental health as a “problem” and reframing it as a workplace challenge. We crave human interaction.
How do we do this?
We say often that leaders must lead by example. As I’ve written countless times, organizational leaders set the tone, and people tend to follow the leader.
When managers or the C-suite prioritizes mental health, employees or other partners are more likely to do so as well.
FINALLY, I thought, people are talking about mental health.
Talking about anxiety, depression, or otherwise enables leaders to acknowledge what their team experiences, and allows them to be there for their team. I truly care for our team, and treat them like family. However, to treat someone like family is to know them on a personal level, without which you do not know their experiences, stresses, or personal achievements. Knowing our team on a personal level enables me to check in often on more than a facial level, but, rather, on a personal level to ensure that they are healthy and happy human beings.
When you mainstream mental health challenges and talk about it, it becomes less scary to people. We find solace in knowing we are not alone in our struggles and in our sleepless nights.
Talking about stress and burnout.
Lawyers are stressed? Who knew?! According to the ABA Journal, lawyers responding to a Bloomberg Law survey reported feeling burnout an average of 47% of the time in the first half of the year.
The last quarter of 2021 was the first time average burnout exceeded 50% since the publication began polling on the issue in 2020.
The legal profession is demanding, and self-care has traditionally been undervalued. Legal employers need to continue to develop and offer well-being programs, and address attorney mental health and substance use disorders.
Indeed.
It’s ok to ask for help. It’s not a weakness. It’s a human need.
We talk about breathing because I believe breathing is a critical tool in a self-care tool kit. And, yes, we talk a lot about prioritizing self-care through exercise, meditation, mindfulness, and taking the time for therapy if we need it. I’m barely scratching the surface, but you get the idea.
As lawyers, we think we are too busy to prioritize our mental health. Honestly, we cannot afford not to prioritize mental health.