Wellbeing – Notary
LawCare is an independent charity that works to raise awareness of wellbeing issues across the legal community.
Through recent research they found that:
- legal professionals are not getting enough sleep and are at a high risk of burnout
- 69% of the participants reported that they had experienced mental ill-health including stress, anxiety, and depression in the 12 months prior
- certain groups in the legal profession such as younger professionals, women, those from ethnic minority groups, and those with a disability present a greater risk of burnout
- 65% confirmed they check their emails regularly outside of work hours
- 46% of the participants felt that their regulator shared responsibility for wellbeing in the legal profession
According to the Mental Health Foundation, a leading UK mental health charity, stress can “leave us in a permanent stage of fight or flight, leaving us overwhelmed or unable to cope. Long term, this can affect our physical and mental health”.
It is therefore important to recognise that ignoring warning signs may have a negative impact on our overall health and in turn undermine competency and professional reputation.
We therefore urge notaries to reach out and seek help whether they are feeling overloaded with work, worried about difficult clients or complaints, or feeling lonely and unsupported.
Where to go for help and support?
LawCare offer free, confidential, emotional support, peer support, and resources to those working in the law in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.
They also provide a free 4 hour online training course on emotional competence and professional resilience for both individual legal professionals and employers, to promote psychologically and emotionally healthier ways of working in law.
LawCare have trained staff and volunteers who have first-hand experience of working in the law.
Please contact their helpline on 0800 279 6888 or email support@lawcare.org.uk or access online chat and other resources on their website.
Where can I find out more?
Please click on the links below:
- NHS general information about stress, anxiety and depression;
- Mind (the mental health charity) provide some tips for everyday living;
- Guidelines on stress from The Mental Health Foundation
- NHS self-assessment to check your mood;
- Tackling work-related stress using the Management Standards approach – HSE
- The Compassionate Friends | Information for professionals
- LawCare -Life In The Law