Excessive working hours for legal professionals affects all areas of life.
Arguably one of the hardest and most difficult aspects that’s affected, is that of family life. Whether it’s not having enough time with them, or not much quality time due to always being on-call and being disrupted by work, it’s evident that family time can suffer due to the modern-day working life of a legal professional.
For many, missing out on family events, milestones, and just general time away from work can be one of the hardest parts of the job. It’s no secret that those working in the legal sector have rather intense working hours - often up to 50-60 hours per week. This can have an impact on family life as it can cause a lot of frustration and upset. If it’s happening regularly, that pressure can gradually get worse and really take a toll on mental health.
When legal professionals do get to spend time with their families, it’s not always undisturbed as they are on-call for questions and queries and get called into the office for work that needs to be done immediately. It’s even difficult to fully enjoy family time and give them 100% attention because of the on-call nature of the profession. There rarely is quality time off.
Having precious moments interrupted by work can grind an individual down over time and can really start to take a toll on one’s mental health and wellbeing. Exhaustion can kick in, and not having proper winding-down time with family can make one feel upset, annoyed, and tired.
UKIM Wellbeing Market Consultant and Director at Opus Law Solicitors, Ben Jones, says:
“All of these factors inevitably have an impact upon the wellbeing of criminal solicitors, their personal lives and the impact it has on their family life. Families often don’t understand the pressures or the lack of time a father, mother, husband or wife has for their loved ones. And why should they?”
Whether it’s family or friends, time spent with loved ones is crucial and is often the key to keep things going for people and to support mental wellness. Those closest to us are more often than not the ones who help after a hard day at work, or a hard time in general. Not spending undisturbed time with loved ones can cause feelings of frustration, guilt and lower moods.
This is where UKIM Occupational Health and Wellbeing can step in. We can offer a wide variety of support to maintain and improve mental wellbeing, regardless of the problems that may be faced.
