Surveyed lawyers report they experience burnout in their jobs more than half the time

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Lawyer Wellness Surveyed lawyers report they experience burnout in their jobs more than half the time

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 9, 2022, 8:43 am CST

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Lawyers are experiencing more burnout and a decline in well-being, according to a Bloomberg Law survey taken in the last quarter of 2021.

Surveyed lawyers said they experienced burnout in their jobs 52% of the time, the highest level since Bloomberg Law began taking the quarterly survey in 2020, according to the publication.

The percentage of time lawyers that experienced burnout was 44% in the third quarter and 47% in the fourth quarter, Bloomberg Law reported.

Bloomberg Law surveyed 614 in-house and private practice lawyers for its Attorney Workload and Hours survey.

Other survey findings included:

• Forty-six percent said their well-being worsened in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared with 34% in the third quarter and 30% in the second quarter.

• Lawyers who reported a decline in well-being also had an average job satisfaction score of 4.1 on a 10-point scale, compared to an average of 6.7 for lawyers whose job satisfaction remained unchanged and an average of 7.3 for those who reported improvement in well-being.

• Among lawyers who reported a decline in well-being, 83% reported disrupted sleep (compared to 55% of those with unchanged well-being and 62% of those with improved well-being), 81% reported anxiety (compared to 49% for both of the other groups), 47% reported personal relationship issues (compared to 20% for both of the other groups), and 43% reported depression (compared to 17% for the unchanged group and 25% for the improved well-being group).

• Among those who reported a decline in well-being, 79% identified the challenges that they faced as an inability to disconnect from work (compared to 50% for the unchanged group and 53% for the improved group), 78% reported a heavier workload or professional responsibilities (compared to 43% for the unchanged group and 44% for the improved group), and 61% reported trouble focusing on work tasks (compared to 34% for the unchanged group and 43% for the improved group).

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