Disrupted sleep and anxiety plague more than half of surveyed lawyers
Disrupted sleep and anxiety lead the list of well-being challenges experienced by surveyed lawyers, according to a new survey report by Bloomberg Law. (Image from Shutterstock)
Disrupted sleep and anxiety lead the list of well-being challenges experienced by surveyed lawyers, according to a new survey report by Bloomberg Law.
Those two problems “can lead to a slew of mental and physical health issues” and prevent lawyers from performing at desired levels, according to the Bloomberg Law report, titled 2024 Attorney Well-Being Report: The Divide Between Health & the Legal Industry.
Bloomberg Law reported on the findings.
Survey respondents were presented with a list of possible mental and physical challenges and asked which ones that they have experienced in 2024. The survey found:
- 56% reported disrupted sleep
- 55% experienced anxiety
- 44% reported lower energy/concentration
- 37% experienced worsened mood
- 30% experienced physical health issues
- 29% reported depression
- 25% reported issues in their personal relationships
- 18% reported increased or decreased food consumption
- 14% reported increased alcohol usage
The report combines results from a Bloomberg workload-and-hours survey of nearly 1,400 legal professionals—98% of whom were attorneys—who were asked about their experiences in the second half of 2023, and a Bloomberg attorney well-being survey of nearly 600 professionals—97% of whom were attorneys. Data was collected Feb. 12 to March 4, 2024, and May 13 to May 27, 2024, respectively.
Asked to score their well-being on a 10-point scale, the respondents’ average was 6.5. Younger attorneys reported the least well-being, with a 5.6 average for those ages 25 to 34. The numbers got better with increasing age.
Average well-being was 6.1 for attorneys ages 35 to 44, 6.4 for attorneys ages 45 to 54, 6.8 for attorneys ages 55 to 64, and 7.8 for attorneys older than age 65.
Burnout was also more of a problem for younger lawyers in the 25-to-34 age group. They reported feeling burnout an average of 58% of the time in the last half of 2023, compared to 52% of the time for lawyers ages 35 to 44, 49% of the time for lawyers ages 45 to 54, 48% of the time for lawyers ages 55 to 64, and 23% of the time for lawyers older than age 65.
The most troubling finding may be the percentage of lawyers who reported encountering other legal professionals whose work responsibilities may be affected by issues of well-being, substance abuse and/or mental health, according to Bloomberg Law.
Forty-nine percent of survey respondents said they sometimes encountered such professionals, while 13% said they often encountered such professionals.
“Whether attorneys have a diagnosable mental health condition or not,” Bloomberg Law concluded, “the data indicate that a large portion of the legal profession is impaired in some way and may be struggling to competently do their jobs.”
