Risk factors

LawCare CEO Elizabeth Rimmer examines the main risks to mental health in the workplace and how to manage them 

The traditional view of health and safety in the workplace is evolving to include the risks to mental health and there is now a recognition that these risks need to actively managed.

In the legal profession the focus of managing mental health at work has generally been on supporting individuals to cope with the pressures of a career in the law by building their resilience, providing education and access to external support.

Although this can be beneficial, workplaces need to go wider and look at their organisational culture and working practices, and consider their responsibilities to ensure that they create an environment which supports psychological safety and mental health.

What are psychosocial risks? 

• Risks to mental health at work, also known as psychosocial risks, are a broad range of factors relating to the workplace and working that can cause psychological harm. They can come from work management or design, the work environment, and workplace relationships and social interactions.

The World Health Organisation has identified common risks to mental health at work. Those that are relevant to the legal sector include:

• Excessive workloads;
• Long, unsocial, or inflexible hours;
• Lack of control over workload or job design;
• Organisational culture that enables negative behaviours;
• Poor workplace relationships;
• Limited support from colleagues, poor management, or authoritarian supervision;
• Harassment, sexual harassment or bullying;
• Discrimination and exclusion;
• Unclear job role and expectations;
• Low reward and recognition, poor investment in career development;
• Conflicting home/work demands;
• Isolated or remote working; and
• Exposure to traumatic events.

How does exposure to psychosocial risk cause harm? 

Some of these risk factors, such as exposure to traumatic events, have the potential to directly cause harm. Legal professionals working in family, immigration or crime may develop vicarious trauma because of exposure to the trauma experienced by their clients.

However, for most people, it is a combination of exposure to psychosocial risks at work which can undermine their mental health and lead to anxiety, stress, burnout or depression.

The legal workplace is characterised by inherent psychosocial risks – working long hours, poor work-life balance, meeting the expectations of demanding clients, heavy caseloads, the pressure of deadlines and billing targets, whilst maintaining high standards of ethical and professional conduct.

This is evidenced by our Life in the Law study published in 2021, which showed that legal professionals were at high risk of burnout associated with a high workload, working long hours and a psychologically unsafe working environment, and 20% reported being bullied, harassed or discriminated against.

How can legal workplaces manage psychosocial risk? 

“The tendency in legal workplaces is to respond to people with work-related mental health conditions once the problem has arisen but the goal should be to prevent them from developing in the first place”

The tendency in legal workplaces is to respond to people with work-related mental health conditions once the problem has arisen but the goal should be to prevent them from developing in the first place.

Actively managing psychosocial risks is the key to prevention. Employers should assess and identify the workplace risks to mental health, identify who may be exposed to these and which groups may be at particular risk, then take steps to mitigate, modify or remove these risks and monitor the impact these steps have had. Managing psychosocial risks should be embedded in the organisational risk management system.

Practical steps to mitigate risks 

Although it may seem challenging to implement measures to manage the psychosocial risks in legal workplaces, there are some practical steps that employers and those who manage others should be taking such as:

• Invest in management training so that those with responsibility for others have the skills and capacity to do this effectively;
• Ensure staff have the support they need – regular one-to-one catch-ups with their manager or supervisor and participation in relevant mentoring and peer-support schemes;
• Monitor and manage workloads and ensure staff and teams are adequately resourced;
• Check in regularly with staff working remotely;
• Adopt a zero-tolerance policy to bullying, harassment and discrimination;
• Address poor workplace relationships or conflict;
• Support staff to work healthy hours, and take both breaks and their holiday entitlement;
• Ensure transparent processes for work allocation, reward and career progression;
• For those exposed to traumatic events or materials, provide education, support and training; and
• Provide flexible working arrangements, such as working from home or flexible hours, to allow more time for responsibilities outside work and for activities that support mental wellbeing.

Adopting a proactive approach to managing psychosocial risks supports an engaged, productive and inclusive workplace which enables people to thrive.

LawCare is the mental wellbeing charity for the legal profession offering free, confidential, emotional support, peer support, and resources to those working in the law. LawCare promotes mental health and wellbeing best practice in legal workplaces and drives culture change in education, training and practice.

If you need support call LawCare on 0800 279 6888, email support@lawcare.org.uk or go to www.lawcare.org.uk.