A report by SANE Australia found that a high percentage of employees who had been mentally unwell felt they had not been supported, while almost all respondents to a survey said their employers needed education on mental health issues.

Long hours

Although the survey was anonymous, SANE Australia Director of Policy & Development Claire Blundy said that it was ‘very likely’ that a portion of the 520 respondents work at law firms.
Ms Blundy, whom herself worked at a top-tier law firm, said that long hours, poor work-life balance and the stress of a competitive environment are major factors in the high rate of depression among lawyers, which is exacerbated by the poor implementation of mental health programmes.

Bork arrangements

Ms Blundy told Lawyers Weekly that programmes needed to be ‘embedded into organisations, and day-to-day tools provided to staff, rather than a phone number of somewhere else to go.’
She added: ‘It is critical for senior associates and partners to understand that mental health is equivalent to physical health issues and providing flexible work arrangements can assist in the health and wellbeing of the employee.’

Read SANE's press release here.