Building resilience as a profession

Research by the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) this year revealed that more than 90 per cent of junior lawyers experience stress at work, with more than 25 per cent experiencing severe or extreme levels of stress.

Moreover, one in 15 reported experiencing suicidal thoughts as a result of stress at work during the month leading up to taking the survey.

The Resilience and Wellbeing Survey 2019 also found that 48 per cent of junior lawyers reported experiencing mental ill-health (whether formally diagnosed or not) in the month leading up to taking the survey – a significant increase on the 38 per cent reported in 2018 and 26 per cent in 2017…

 

Distressed Employees? Try Resilience Training

Every year depression affects one in every five employees and costs American businesses $210 billion in medical bills and lost productivity.

In fact, for every worker with a depressive disorder, a company loses an average of 32 productive workdays per year. Depressed employees are also four to five times more likely to experience work-related problems than employees with chronic physical illnesses like diabetes or heart disease.

So why do many companies fail to help their workers battle mental health disorders?

“There’s a silence around this issue at many companies,” says Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Ashley V. Whillans. “We need to stop trying to paint this picture of the perfect employee who never needs help.”

Whillans, who studies how people navigate trade-offs between time and money, recently co-wrote a forthcoming article for the International Journal of Human Resource Management, Improving Resilience Among Employees High in Depression, Anxiety, and Workplace Distress (pdf), which shows that a workplace-based wellness program can help employees suffering from mental health issues….