“… a business-centric approach to practising law has the potential to negatively impact the health and wellbeing of lawyers …”
Krill et al. (2022, pp.16)
Intuitively, we recognise that feeling valued at work supports and enhances employees’ mental health and wellbeing. Research suggests this sense of being valued may equate to feeling respected at work and is related to people experiencing better mental health and wellbeing. In particular, it appears certain types of being valued by employers differentially impacts legal professionals’ mental health and wellbeing.
Krill et al.’s study explores how valued legal professionals feel at work. This study surveyed nearly 2000 legal professionals from a range of backgrounds, including private practice, government and in-house corporate settings. The study revealed three categories of employee value, as perceived by employees: professionalism/individual, financial work/availability and no feedback. Most lawyers (62%) were in the professionalism/individual group, which enjoyed the best mental health and wellbeing outcomes, such as lower perceived stress, better mental and physical health and less work overload. These lawyers felt valued by their employers for positive skills and attributes, such as key professional skills and human worth.
Of concern, were the 37% of lawyers that experienced poorer mental health and wellbeing. These legal professionals occupied one of two groups. Financial worth/availability group members (27%) felt valued at work for their ability to be on-the-job and earn revenue for the organisation. The lawyers who felt under-valued by their employers or received no feedback about what their employer values about them (10%) experienced the worst health and wellbeing of all groups. Members of these groups consumed more substances and reported that they were considering leaving the profession due to stress, burnout or poor mental health.
Rogers and Ashforth suggest that respect towards employees is demonstrated by organisations through engendering feelings of being valued in their employees. They note that respect is assumed to be an important organisational construct, yet it is rarely studied. This study observed that employees receive less respect from their organisations than they hope for. It found positive self-related outcomes, such as self-esteem, emerge from respect being offered and received in the workplace. Their model includes two conceptualisations of respect that may operate and can co-exist: generalised respect that enables staff to feel valued as a group and particularised respect that aids individuals to understand how they fit into and contribute to the organisation. Generalised respect is linked to employees’ need for belonging and particularised respect to the need for status. When these types of respect are both demonstrated well there is a risk of mixed messaging, such as this organisation values you all equally and your attributes and achievements show you are more valuable than other employees. The authors recommend that this mixed messaging is diminished if generalised respect “provides a foundation for basic civility and trust” and works to increase the sense of connection among employees such that employees experience “social rewards” from valued others. This study indicates that communicating how and why people as a group and as individuals are valued by organisations is critical to positive self-related outcomes.
The theoretical paper on respect supports the findings of Krill et al. The group with the worst health status were those who received no employer feedback about their value. This suggests that feedback is crucial to maintaining a respectful, mentally health and flourishing legal workplace. Supervisors and senior lawyers are recommended to provide employees with regular genuine feedback about employees’ contributions to the organisation and what they value about each staff member. This appears to be an aspect of managing legal human resources that needs to be attended to since Krill et al. demonstrated that even lawyers who were in the professionalism/individual group generally experienced poorer mental and physical health than the general population. So even workplaces that have open dialogue about what they value in their employees can have staff who struggle with their wellbeing.
Krill et al.’s findings demonstrate that legal professionals’ health and wellbeing is determined, in part, by management showing them that they are more than a cog in a wheel. Management’s genuine actions to show staff that they are respected and valued by the organisation and why they are valued are important components of supporting legal professional’s mental health and wellbeing. These actions form part of the repertoire of wellbeing enhancing strategies legal organisations can use to improve the mental health and wellbeing of their most valuable asset – their employees.
As a legal professional, which of Krill et al.’s groups do you identify with?
How do you experience respect or feeling valued at work?
As a legal leader, how do you demonstrate your value and respect for employees?
Support for Lawyers understands legal professionals. Our professionals can assist legal professionals to explore how respect and feeling valued at work impacts their job satisfaction, mental health and wellbeing.
At Support for Lawyers, we believe that when whole sectors, firms or organisations engage with us wellbeing is embraced as part of normal workplace culture and business as usual. This is responsible business practice and is protective of everyone.
Talk to us about how our preventative approach to enhance wellbeing can support you, your staff and your legal organisation.
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American Psychological Association. (2012). APA survey finds feeling valued at work linked to well-being and performance. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2012/03/well-being
Krill, P.R., Degeneffe, N., Ochocki, K., & Anker, J.J. (2022). People, professionals and profit centres: The connection between lawyer wellbeing and employer values. Behavioural Sciences, 12, 177. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs1206017
Rogers, K.M., & Ashforth, B.E. (2017). Respect in organisations: Feeling valued as “we” and “me”. Journal of Management, 43(5), 1578-1608. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314557159
