In perhaps the most extensive longitudinal study
of its kind, research released last week revealed New Zealand lawyers and law students are the unhappiest in the world, with high levels of depression, anxiety, stress and psychological distress compared to international counterparts.
University of Melbourne researchers surveyed 800 New Zealand-based lawyers and law students in yearly intervals between March 2021 and April 2023. The study was commissioned by the Life Squared Trust, founded by Emma Grigg in memory of her late husband and lawyer, Andrew McIntyre, who lost his battle with depression.
Study nuts and bolts
Using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS) - a system that asks questions where the higher the score, the greater the level of depression, anxiety and stress - the average combined DASS score for New Zealand lawyers is 21.44. For context, people experiencing “normal” rates of depression, stress and anxiety would fall within a combined score of zero to 14.
For lawyers, 34% reported experiencing moderate to severe psychological distress. A quarter of those experiencing distress described it as severe or extremely severe.
Comparing the data to other international studies (it gets complicated, but bear with me), the average depressed mood score in a US study of 12,825 legal employees was 3.51. For New Zealand lawyers, the score was 6.40.
For anxiety, US lawyers had an average score of 1.96, while it was 5.86 for New Zealand lawyers. For US lawyers experiencing stress, the average was 4.97, while New Zealand-based lawyers had a score of 9.18.
Compare these figures to nurses, who similarly carry out stressful and demanding work. A 2021 study into nursing during the pandemic found Australian nurses had a depressed mood score of 3.27, 3.04 for anxiety, and a stress score of 5.73.
In other words, the New Zealand profession is suffering a wellbeing crisis. And depressingly, the data was consistent over the three-year study.
Why is lawyering so uniquely punishing?
From a general “New Zealand vibe” perspective, the outlook is certainly bleak, with rising unemployment and social deprivation rates, post-pandemic burnout, the cost of living (and legal practising) crisis, climate change, the horrific state of international relations, and so on.
According to the study’s literature review by Associate Professor Aaron Jarden, this existential dread is unique to the legally inclined.
“The legal profession and law schools are also purported to value lawyers with certain psychological traits, such as pessimism, that, while advantageous professionally, may reduce lawyers’ wellbeing at work, and in life beyond work,” Jarden wrote, referencing a 2009 paper.
While pessimism (as a tendency to expect the worst of any situation) leads to worse outcomes for most people, academics have argued it bodes well for law students to perform better academically than optimistic students, Jarden said.
“This is because pessimism is synonymous with ‘prudence’, which is an advantageous quality for lawyers as it allows them to anticipate problems which could be beneficial for their clients.”
Add this factor to local and international studies that point to the highly competitive, demanding (sometimes exploitative, sometimes hostile) work and work environment - it’s of little surprise lawyering can be the pits for some.
Happy work, happy worker
While much of the research has focused on the doom and gloom of life in law, last week’s study is the first to look at wellbeing and the intersection of the two.
For example, lawyers working in a negative work environment had a combined DASS score of 28. Lawyers working in a positive work environment scored 14.06 on average, seven points “happier” than the national legal average of 21.44. A win!
Those who reported higher rates of self-determination and organisational culture, for example, also reported less depressed moods and were less likely to leave their jobs.
Lawyers commonly reported workplace relationships, organisational culture and flexibility were keys to a good work environment. Respondents said the key to improving the work environment came down to reducing pressure and high workloads, increasing remuneration, and enhancing communication styles. We know this already, but at least we now have an internationally recognised benchmark.
Law Society chief executive Katie Rusbatch was with me on this one, saying, “The more focused data there is in the area, the better. High levels of depression, anxiety and stress [are] of great concern.”
I’ll leave with the real kicker from the study. Lawyers with high levels of wellbeing were typically older (37 and above) and female. If that isn’t another win - or at least a silver lining regarding the pervasive glass ceiling issue - I don’t know what is.
Happy Mental Health Awareness Week.
