At October’s Minds Count Foundation Annual Lecture, Judge Michael Allen, Chief Magistrate of the Local Court of NSW, spoke about loneliness, isolation, and wellbeing in the judiciary.
Speaking on the topic of “Out Here, It’s Just Me: Legal Practice, Isolation and Wellbeing”, Judge Allen (pictured, centre) said that it is common to be alone in court.
“My night thoughts and ideas about my own wellbeing, as well as that of my colleagues, [have their] genesis in no small way in those times of both judicial and geographical isolation,” the Chief Magistrate said.
At the same lecture, Chief Judge Elizabeth Morris of the Local Court of the Northern Territory spoke about her experiences with fear, isolation, and camaraderie, working in NT-based courts.
Seeing the signs
Judge Allen said: “There is a continuing tension in a judge discharging that duty in accord with their judicial oath, and the constant demands and pressure of the work impacting their wellbeing negatively.”
“[This] creates heightened anxiety, fear and a diminished capacity for work, which further exacerbates the negative wellbeing.”
Leadership must be “agile enough” to recognise the negative impacts that the distressing nature of the role has on judges, His Honour said.
“The role of leadership and the organisation in this space is to identify and recognise those down times and their causes and triggers,” he added.
“[By reacting] in an appropriate and effective way and set in place structures, programs, opportunities, relationships and rules or conventions in the workplace, [courts can] address these individual downtimes as and when they may arise.”
Crucial partnership
Chief Magistrate Allen said that courts must also “create a workspace where people may be the best version of themselves”.
Although the court cannot actively get employees to “go for that walk” or “heal the rift with your partner or family member or friend”, it can support judicial officers by creating a partnership with them as “wellbeing is a joint responsibility for individuals and the organisation”, His Honour said.
In this partnership, the court must create a workspace and culture that is proactive and reactive in laying a platform and establishing a work environment that allows workers to become that “best version of themselves”, Judge Allen said.
Leaving a ‘human imprint’
His Honour emphasised the importance of the “human imprint” that individuals present to their colleagues at work and to court staff, the public, and to the parties in court proceedings.
Judge Allen added that upholding and strengthening an organisational culture, workspace, and environment that promotes emotional safety, trust, and collegiality is crucial in promoting positive wellbeing in the court.
“Culture is both the bedrock upon which individual and organisational wellbeing is erected, as well as the protective structure that shields workplace wellbeing and ensures its longevity,” His Honour said.
“I thought about what word would best describe … a workplace that makes decisions with the wellbeing of its people at the centre of its thinking.
“I think that word is community.”
Carlos Tse is a graduate journalist writing for Accountants Daily, HR Leader, Lawyers Weekly.
