In recent years we have seen a growing awareness of workplace culture and wellbeing issues in the legal sector. This is a positive development with many benefits for law firms, not least of which is improved risk management.
A positive workplace culture can help to minimise mistakes and, by extension, avoid potential claims.
We know that most Master Policy claims are due to practical errors rather than getting the law wrong; the deadline that was missed or the deed that wasn’t registered. However, if we think about why such errors were made in the first place, it makes sense that the solicitor’s wellbeing and mental health probably played a part.
What if you treat the cause rather than the symptoms?
What if, as well as diary systems to avoid missing that deadline and case management tools to make sure that deed is registered, your firm also takes real and tangible steps to combat stress and mental health issues in the workplace? Hopefully, the result will be a positive working environment where mistakes are less likely to happen but can also be dealt with quickly and effectively when they do occur. The result – an improved risk profile for those firms with a focus on wellbeing.
Lockton has partnered with FeelGood (opens a new window), a psychologist-led wellbeing and mental health consultancy, to produce guidance to support law firms considering wellbeing investment. It contains comprehensive information to help all firms with wellbeing strategy implementation, no matter their size, areas of specialism or infrastructure.
Key points include:
The three pillars to address workplace wellbeing.
Achievable workplace accommodations to protect against psychosocial risks at work.
Practical strategies to overcome objections around wellbeing investment.
For more resources on this topic, see the Law Society of Scotland's wellbeing pages (opens a new window) where there is a wealth of information to support firms on their journey to building wellbeing strategies.
The Mindful Business Charter (opens a new window) provides another cost-effective resource for firms. And of course, LawCare (opens a new window) has been central to the work carried out on mental health in the legal sector, and can provide support in many ways, including peer support networks and training resources.
Prioritising employees’ mental health and wellbeing is of course the right thing to do for so many reasons, not simply to minimise potential claims. That said, the risk management benefits of a healthy and happy workforce are clear. If wellbeing and workplace culture can be considered as part of a firm’s overall risk management strategy, this is likely to yield positive results all round.
Click here to download our brochure (opens a new window).