ANALYSIS: Attorneys Skip Classes on Well-Being at Work

New survey data from Bloomberg Law indicates that education on well-being, mental health, and substance use in the legal profession is available to attorneys—but attorneys aren’t taking part.

Bloomberg Law’s 2024 Attorney Well-Being Report, which combines data from the biannual Workload & Hours Survey and the inaugural Attorney Well-Being Survey, provides insights on what well-being resources are being provided by legal organizations to their employees.

The Workload & Hours Survey asked the respondents whether their organizations offered education on well-being or training for mental health first aid (which teaches attendees to recognize and respond to mental health and substance abuse issues).

Over 60% of the respondents said that their organizations offer seminars on well-being, mental health, resiliency, or similar subjects. Additionally, 35% of the respondents said that their organizations specifically offer training on mental health first aid or psychological safety. However, the responses reveal a notable gap between the respondents who go to these trainings and those who do not.

Of the respondents who said they know this type of education is available, most don’t utilize this resource. Almost three-fourths (73%) of those attorneys whose organization offers general well-being education don’t attend. When it comes to training on mental health first aid and psychological safety, even more said they skip the class: 91% don’t go although training is available.

A Matter of Time?

Why aren’t more attorneys attending well-being trainings at work? It’s not because they don’t value well-being. On a 10-point scale, attorneys responding to the Well-Being Survey rated the importance of well-being to their own careers at 8.7 and the importance of well-being to the legal profession at 7.7.

Is the failure to attend trainings evidence of a divide between what attorneys say they value and how they approach well-being? Maybe.

But it may be that attorneys feel that they don’t have the time to dedicate to these classes at work. The Well-Being Survey also asked attorneys—if they had delayed or not sought treatment for mental health conditions—why they had waited or not gotten help. The number one reason attorneys gave was time.

If time is preventing attorneys from learning more about mental health, addiction, and well-being, employers may be able to implement strategies to encourage attorneys to make time, including:

• Offering billable credit for attendance at well-being classes;
• Enlisting organizational leaders to attend the trainings to normalize it;
• Offering continuing education credit for trainings; and
• Ensuring that there are several types of programming (e.g., self-care, mental health and addiction).

Bloomberg Law subscribers can find related content on our In Focus: Legal Professional Well-Being page, our Well-Being Programs & Organizational Health page, and our Surveys, Reports & Data Analysis page.

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