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Junior lawyers are often told to “build their brand”; however, at what point is that personal brand no longer theirs? Social media has further opened the forum for addressing burnout in the profession and challenging the old-school approach to practice, writes Zeinab Farhat.
Many would have come across the recent story of a junior lawyer in Melbourne who was terminated for making a TikTok about her experience with burnout after three weeks in her role.
Social media has become a key tool for both businesses and professionals to build a reputation. However, an inherent tension exists between the use of social media and the ability to truthfully recount one’s experiences in law:
A profession that has normalised burnout, but not for Gen Z
Law has historically attracted the reputation of burnout among young professionals.
Many lawyers have experienced burnout and mental health struggles to some extent, whether from long hours, workload pressures, and under-resourcing, low pay, demanding clients, or just general workplace dissatisfaction. However, the younger cohort of lawyers appears to be questioning the normalcy of all of this and whether it is indeed “worth it”.
Gen Z lawyers prioritise work/life balance, flexibility, and the ability to live more fulfilling lives while pursuing their aspirations. Whether this is at inherent odds with the practice of law, depends on who you ask.
Gen Z also do not bode well with their senior counterparts who simply restate that this is just ‘part of law’, and maybe they are not built for the realities of practice. There has been a genuine culture and professional shift in workplace culture that needs to match the current realities of law.
Does law need to be a career that burns its people out?
Law is a demanding career, and there is no doubt about that. However, is it a career where all jobs will demand more from their people than they give?
The answer is no.
There are many jobs in law where lawyers can work from home and/or log off at 5–5:30pm. There are others where taking time off is encouraged to promote wellbeing and assist their employees with recharging. There are also jobs where workloads are evenly distributed as adequate resourcing exists.
More importantly, there are jobs where concerns, frustrations, and difficulties are actually welcomed in an open and collaborative forum and addressed in order to retain talent, rather than wholly negated as being “untrue”.
This is not a profession that needs to stay stagnant and continue to impact the mental health and wellbeing of the next generation of lawyers.
So, what can lawyers actually say online?
Lawyers turning to social media to air their grievances need to consider: what they want to publish online (including the tone and contents), the terms of their employment contracts, social media policies, and the general culture of their workplace.
Young lawyers should not be afraid to discuss their truthful experiences with the possible fear of termination, whether they do so with their managers or online.
Absent any potential unfair dismissal claims that could arise, no longer stifling and negating the experiences of young lawyers who do not wish to normalise being overburdened is imperative to transforming this profession into one that is transitioning to welcome workplace culture improvements generally.
Ultimately, professional and personal identities are interwoven and somewhat difficult to separate. It is a delicate balance between saying what you think and saying it in a way that will not jeopardise your employment.
Mental health and physical wellbeing are just as important as doing the work, and it is essential that principals, managers, and seniors recognise that young lawyers want to do their work and also live their lives. Workplaces that do not recognise the long-lasting physical and mental impacts of burnout are, truthfully, decades behind.
There is no reason life and work need to be mutually exclusive, and any workplaces that adopt these attitudes may struggle to remain competitive in the market.
Zeinab Farhat is a lawyer at LegalVision.
