The Mindfulness Blog

If the absence of a workplace wellbeing policy/procedure isn't legal malpractice, at the very least, it's an institutional embarrassment. If workplace wellbeing is not a right that courts will protect-- especially, in law firms-- it surely is the breach of an implied promise that employers make to their employees.

If a particular employment situation is simply about money in exchange for service and lasts only as long as the employer (in its sole discretion) deems useful, why shouldn't that fact be clearly stated as a condition of employment? The wellbeing of the people on the backs of whom the success of a firm or other institution is built, should matter. That much is evident to most of us, but it doesn't seem to be evident to a lot of employers.

Action-- or inaction-- speaks louder than words, and if one began to catalogue the number of workplaces that talk about wellbeing but have no actual initiative in place, one would need reams of paper to complete the task. It's a sad state of affairs but it's also an opportunity, as employers struggle with the post-pandemic issue of attracting employees back to the office.

The pursuit of happiness should be more than an aspiration, and now is a strategically significant time for our businesses-- including our law firms-- to recognize that fact and seize the opportunity. Workplace wellbeing is much more than a transitory vicissitude-- it's a brick-and-mortar reality.

Employees asking nicely has had little effect. Maybe more employers will recognize the importance of workplace wellbeing for what it really is, and adopt a wellbeing initiative voluntarily?

That would be transformative, and it's a change that would be consistent with the workplace world in which we all now live!