Worth Reading – The Legal Profession Cannot Yoga Its Way Out of a Mental Health Crisis
If I could put a quote from the article below on a sticker, it would be this:
Organizations cannot claim to care about mental health while their required metrics undermine it.
https://iampractigal.com/2025/12/11/mental-health-crisis/
Yes, this quote is about the billable hour. In law, we know this is a problem that we refuse to correct. Other industries may have something similar, but the bottom line is always the same – you can’t claim to care about mental health while rewarding and encouraging actions that undermine the mental health of your employees. Overwork is an obvious example. It’s also incredibly common. How many employers reward people who are always available? The article above points out how this is impacting lawyers, and I agree, while also noting that it’s not just lawyers. If lawyers are expected to bill and be responsive to clients 24/7, guess who needs to do the same when the lawyers need support?
Yoga or mindfulness seminars are nice, but they won’t eliminate the mental health impacts of working 60-80 hours every week. If that’s your expectation, you are harming your employees. If your business model depends on causing this harm, don’t be surprised that people opt to do something other than continuing to work for you. It’s in their best interests.
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