Linked: ‘Like a Band-Aid Over a Bullet Wound’: The Disconnect Between Firms and Lawyers on Well-Being Efforts
This is the same issue we run into with training too. Attorneys are constantly asking for more training on technology, but when you put it together, they don’t show up, or when you produce video content, they don’t watch it. When it comes to programs that are designed to help with work-life balance, mental health, stress, etc. it’s more of the same:
But the mixed messages sent when a firm says “go use our meditation room but make sure you bill 2,000 hours or you won’t get your bonus” need a broader fix that may require more people in the room than those focused purely on mental health.
The programs they actually ask for get very little engagement because all of them take time away from the one thing every single one of them is actually being measured on, billable hours. Until we figure out how to alter a business model that is dependent on lawyers working longer and longer hours, we’ll never really get anywhere, on technology training, or mental health.