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Who is responsible for a lawyer’s wellness?
With remote work thrown into the mix of an already mentally demanding sector, lawyers need to navigate how they should be addressing their holistic health.
Jessica Penny
In a unique episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, regular host and editor of Lawyers Weekly, Jerome Doraisamy, sat down with long-time friend and senior associate at Herbert Smith Freehills, Codie Asimus, to reflect on his own period of ill health.
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One decade ago, Mr Doraisamy self-admitted to hospital for anxiety and depression and was hospitalised for the week in between his university graduation and admission into the Supreme Court of NSW.
For Mr Doraisamy, while these milestones “should have been two of the best days of [his] life”, the long road that led him to these two achievements left him “in a hole that was impossible to dig [himself] out of”.
He went on to say that he didn’t feel equipped to properly articulate his feelings to his family, friends or colleagues, with the 18-month bout being “absolutely the loneliest” he has felt in his life.
According to Mr Doraisamy, this state of affairs is starting to change for other professionals in the law sector.
“I think we’re absolutely headed in the right direction compared to where we were, say 15 [or] 20 years ago,” he said.
“We’ve made significant strides in not just raising awareness of the prevalence and causes and effects of these ailments, but we have also really improved the ways in which lawyers are looked after in the workplace, and also the ways that lawyers look after themselves.”
Mr Doraisamy believes that “a problem shared is a problem halved”, but submits that a level of individual responsibility is essential in any professional’s wellness, particularly in a post-pandemic climate.
“I think there was somewhat of an expectation that it was the employer’s duty to do that … and there absolutely is, from a legal perspective, but your employer only has responsibility for you from nine to five.
“Outside of those hours, and certainly if you’re working from home, you have a duty to yourself to ensure that you are staying on top of things, that you are managing your physical, emotional, and psychological health, not only because you have a responsibility to your clients to perform to the best of your ability, but you also have a responsibility to yourself,” he said.
Mr Doraisamy worries that lawyers might need to endure particularly strong psychological impacts from remote work.
“Because of our statistically proven predispositions to certain personality traits like competitiveness, perfectionism, pessimism, it is really important for us to have social interaction, to have community.
“I’m surprised that more lawyers haven’t gone back into the office just yet. Maybe the novelty [of working from home] hasn’t quite worn off, but I think that in the coming years, we’re going to see a real increase in the number of lawyers who are experiencing anxiety and depression by virtue of that social isolation,” he explained.
Whilst law might seem like a vocation that’s not well suited to remote work, Mr Doraisamy suggests that we need to more broadly consider what conditions offer different employees happiness.
“I think we probably need to move away from any mindset that says one size will fit all … we need to better cater to idiosyncratic needs and make accommodations … no matter what their background, no matter what their level within the firm or the business,” he said.
“We need to ensure that everybody’s unique experience and perspectives are being at least heard if not addressed.”
Ultimately, Mr Doraisamy recommends that professionals should feel comfortable turning to the people around them to aid in their own self-empowerment.
“First and foremost, do make the time to go and talk to people. A problem shared is a problem halved. And you are not going to have all the answers yourself to whatever ailment you’re experiencing. Your parents, your partners, your siblings, your mentors, [and] your colleagues, they all have certain insight and perspective that can and will be invaluable to your journey, to your recovery,” he said.
“I know that even if and when I do have a recurrence of ill health, even if I just have a bad day, I have so many good people around me who will show love and care and support, and that makes me feel like I’m armed with the tools I need in order to face any problem.”
Help is available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue at 1300 22 4636. Each law society and bar association also has further contacts available on their respective websites.
The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Jerome Doraisamy and Codie Asimus, click below:
