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3 in 10 in-house counsel have ‘high’ burnout during COVID-19
Whilst a majority of corporate lawyers are feeling positive about their workload during the pandemic, 30 per cent have troubling levels of burnout.
Jerome Doraisamy
The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) recently polled 460 of its members to evaluate the state of the in-house community’s wellness and work habits in the three months since the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic.
Perhaps of greatest concern is that just over three in 10 (30.3 per cent) of in-house counsel currently rate their level of burnout as being “high” or ‘very high”.
That being said, over four in five (83.3 per cent) of respondents said that their overall emotional state was “somewhat good”, “very good” or “extremely good”.
Moreover, 84.2 per cent said they feel positive about their workplace and business or organisation, with over half of respondents having attended a virtual drinks event or having completed online fitness classes, religious services, dinner parties, and meditation sessions as ways to relax and connect with colleagues.
Responding to the findings, ACC Australia Asia-Pacific vice-president and general manager Tanya Khan said: “As businesses around the world struggled to adjust to the new challenges of COVID-19, corporate legal departments were at the forefront of those transitions.”
“Members repeatedly shared with us how the stress of these responsibilities [was] impacting their wellbeing and overall mental health. The results from this flash poll provide some insights that COVID-19 is taking an emotional toll on the in-house community, but that they are also an incredibly optimistic and resilient group of professionals,” she proclaimed.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. In June 2024, he also assumed the editorship of HR Leader. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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