Jamie Kelly
A Note from Chronicle Law
The questions addressed in this FAQ series have been sourced from members of the legal sector, and we sincerely thank those who contributed their thoughts and concerns.
In our collaboration with Jamie Kelly of YTherapy we are so pleased to bring you the third part in our ‘Mental Health in the Legal Profession’ series which is focused on those in management and key decision making roles for employees. If you haven’t been able to read the preceding two parts in this series you can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
What was very clear to us from the questions we received from managers in the profession was the concern that they had for their employees wellbeing and how their practices could impact upon that. There was also a real desire to help normalise the discussion of overwhelm and stress that we can all face in the workplace from time to time so that employees feel safe to open up and to ask for the support they might need. The engagement that we had with this was encouraging there is a real drive for change.
At Chronicle Law we have taken away many talking points from this, it has made us put aside some time to reflect on what makes us feel safe, discuss our practices and we have spoken with others in similar roles about how they approach matters to share ideas across sectors. We hope this provides managers with a starting point of what can be considered when shaping your work environment, procedures and practices with your employees mental health at the forefront.
Here are the key questions asked by lawyers:
- How do we handle confidentiality when it comes to mental health in the workplace?
- Are there specific skills or knowledge managers should have to effectively handle mental health concerns in the workplace?
- What do you think of the impact of things such as storytelling in law firms? There can be a lot of stigma still attached to mental health at work especially in the legal sector, so what do they think is the best way to get senior leadership buy-in? And also what do you think of story-telling from the ground up and getting leaders involved?
- We want to support our staff as much as we can, other than an EAP, what resources can we make available to our team? What training or information would be useful to staff about knowing their organising or stress type without shaming them that they need help with time management?
- How do we avoid strategies that we put in place to support the well-being of our staff from becoming seen as we are just ticking a box and mental health is suddenly dealt with?
A Note from Jamie Kelly
The central question I hear is:
What’s the right thing to do, and the best thing we can do, to fully support our team’s mental health at work?
I can hear the care in wanting to get this right. And the fear of not wanting to get this wrong.
Supporting your team’s mental health matters to you. However, figuring out how to approach mental health in the workplace – understanding what you must do as an employer, what you can do within your role, whilst recognising your professional and personal limits – can be tricky to navigate.
There’s a lot of advice out there telling us to “do this” or “try that.” But supporting your employees’ mental health isn’t about using a single strategy, resource or training, nor is it about mastering a set of skills in one go. That’s why, in this article, I want to step away from listing general “dos and don’ts.” Instead, I’ll focus on helping you think about your employees’ safety and how you can take meaningful steps based on that understanding.
When I worked in secure hospitals and prisons, safety was essential for both staff and patients and inmates alike. We established this safety by clearly defining physical boundaries, parameters, rules, and procedures, whilst also building trust within our teams and with the service users. These elements needed to be firmly in place and upheld consistently by all staff. Any lapses would erode trust in the relationships and the system as a whole. When safety is compromised, people tend to withdraw or act out, testing the cracks in the system.
I share this with you because there’s a lot we can learn from these settings. In the legal profession, it may be that you often deal with vulnerable clients, sensitive and disturbing material, or a workload that can create a highly charged dynamic within teams. Such environments can compromise our sense of safety. When we feel unsafe, we can become unwell, and our responses can even mirror those in secure settings.
In high-risk environments like secure hospitals and prisons, safety isn’t a vague concept – it’s a fundamental human right that needs to be defined in a structured framework to protect all individuals and the whole system. Drawing from this approach, we’ll look at safety through a framework that can go beyond these secure settings, extending to workplaces of all kinds, including law firms.
This framework focuses on three essential areas:
- Physical Security
- Procedural Security
- Relational Security
Each of these areas require thoughtful and comprehensive consideration to ensure alignment. When these elements work together in harmony, they create a cohesive, supportive environment where employees feel genuinely safe – physically and psychologically.
Viewing safety through this approach can help you navigate questions like “What should we do next?” or “Will this work?” and act as a North Star to guide your decision-making, ensuring that trust and authentic support for employees’ mental health remain a priority.
The Foundation for Safety and Well-Being at Work
What does it mean to be safe and well at work?
Understanding Your Duty of Care in Safeguarding Employee Mental Health and Well-Being
As legal professionals, you may already be well aware that the law places a clear responsibility on employers to protect their staff. But when we talk about creating a truly safe and well workplace, this responsibility goes beyond just physical safety and includes psychological safety, too.
In the UK, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) sets the basic legal framework for employers, requiring them to take reasonable steps to protect their employees from harm, including mental health risks.
Building on the HSWA, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR) further details how employers should actively manage workplace risks. These regulations require employers to assess and mitigate risks, including those related to stress, burnout, and overall mental health. This includes identifying hazards before they become a problem and ensuring there are systems in place to safeguard employee well-being.
Prevention is key.
But it’s not just UK legislation that reinforces this need for mental health protection. The World Health Organization (WHO), in its WHO Guidelines on Mental Health at Work (2022), underscores the importance of taking organisational action to address the risks associated with stressful, high-pressure work environments.
These UK laws and international guidelines form the foundation of a Safety-First approach.
This forms a solid foundation for creating environments where employees feel supported and can thrive, knowing their well-being is safeguarded, legally and ethically.
3 Levels of Security Framework
In secure settings, we need to consider three levels of security if we are to keep safe at work. These levels – physical, procedural and relational security – offer a structured way to create a safe environment.
Let’s explore how this security framework can help translate broad legal obligations into something more tangible that you can put into practice in your workplace.
1. Physical Security – Safe Spaces
What does a safe space look like in both physical and virtual settings? How can you define boundaries for different types of work interactions, from client meetings to internal discussions?
In an industry where work often spills over beyond set hours, it’s important to consciously protect employees’ time and space as much as possible. Just as meeting rooms are meant to be free from interruptions, time for work and time off work must be protected in the same way. This includes respecting allocated meeting times and ensuring that well-being or development activities aren’t scheduled to overlap with lunch breaks or extend into after-hours. Creating and protecting these boundaries help reduce employee burnout and promote a healthier work-life balance.
Regular check-ins and dedicated time in diaries for discussing challenges and offering support are key. Leaving it up to employees to request meetings only when problems arise can make seeking help feel like an admission of failure.
Your team of lawyers may be independent and fully capable of managing their own diaries; however, leadership can still offer structure and guardrails to ensure safety and balance. By building support into the daily, weekly and monthly routines, you help employees with their well-being in a practical way – by setting clear physical markers for work, breaks and wellness. This approach provides much-needed clarity, ensuring that essential activities like work time, downtime, and wellness initiatives are effectively scheduled without overlapping or overstretching personal time.
Physical Environment & Space Setup
Create private, comfortable spaces for sensitive conversations. Use rooms in quieter areas of the office with soundproofing, blinds or frosted glass to protect confidentiality and create a sense of safety. Consider the entry and exit points, as well as seating arrangements, to help your staff feel at ease when discussing concerns. Thoughtful physical boundaries help ensure that employees feel supported and comfortable in their environment.
Respect Boundaries in Scheduling & Time Management
Be mindful of when learning and well-being activities are scheduled, particularly during high-stress periods. Consider the impact of scheduling training or wellness initiatives during break times or after-hours. Instead, plan them during periods where there’s dedicated time and space to fully be present, reflect, and implement new learnings. Thoughtful timing allows these initiatives to become rejuvenating opportunities, not just additional tasks. By considering employees’ time and energy, you create an environment where they can recharge and engage meaningfully without unintentionally overstretching their schedules.
Structured Recovery Periods
Plan for clear recovery breaks after intense work periods to prevent burnout. High-pressure tasks should be scheduled around recovery time, maintaining a healthy work rhythm. Providing designated time for rest helps employees recharge, restore focus, and maintain balance, which ultimately supports long-term productivity and well-being.
2. Procedural Security – Safe Practices
Do you know how to respond if a staff member approaches you with a mental health concern or needs support? Are there established procedures in place before, during and after such conversations?
Procedural security is all about creating clear, structured systems that ensure safety, both physically and psychologically, especially when managing sensitive situations.
Confidentiality is fundamental when handling mental health concerns in the workplace. Employees need to feel confident that their personal information will be protected, following both legal standards and your firm’s protocols. For example, if an employee discloses mental health struggles, it’s essential to ensure their information remains private and shared only with relevant individuals on a “need-to-know” basis.
Having a designated point of contact for mental health concerns and resources can be helpful. However, It’s essential that managers are trained and knowledgeable about relevant procedures and resources, too. After all, they have a duty of care to ensure employees’ well-being. This way, if an employee approaches any manager or team leader with a mental health concern, they can confidently handle the situation in accordance with the company’s protocols.
Managers should be equipped to guide employees to the appropriate resources, maintain confidentiality, and support their well-being, even if they are not the designated point of contact. After all, staff are often more likely to share concerns with those they have a relationship with and trust to handle work-related issues effectively.
By putting clear and supportive procedures in place, managers create an environment where employees feel safe reaching out for help, knowing exactly what to expect, and trusting that their concerns will be handled in a respectful and structured way.
When you know what to do, and employees know that you know what to do, it creates a sense of trust and clarity. There’s a system in place, and clear operations around supporting mental health, so no one feels like they’re unprepared when help is needed most.
Implement Support Throughout the Employee Lifecycle
Ensure consistent support structures throughout the employee lifecycle, from onboarding to exit. When new employees join, clearly outline confidentiality practices, and revisit these guidelines as needed. Support should not be limited to one-time events but should evolve in response to role changes, work intensity, and individual needs. By embedding these principles at every stage, employees will understand that support is always available.
Operationalise Thinking Spaces and Recovery Periods
Create consistent, dedicated time for employees to reflect and recover from their workloads. This could include short breaks after intense projects, time in meetings to discuss workload and its impact on well-being, or dedicated reflective spaces to process difficult material. Ensure recovery periods are proactively scheduled, rather than leaving individuals to manage them entirely on their own. This reduces burnout and demonstrates a long-term commitment to employee well-being.
Make New Initiatives Last: Embed, Integrate and Sustain
For new tools, training or initiatives to be effective, they must be integrated into everyday practices. For example, mental health training should be woven into ongoing team discussions and regular practices. By operationalising these initiatives, you make them a continuous part of your work practice, ensuring they are consistently reinforced and not just “one and done.” This creates lasting change and strengthens the commitment to the values and learnings these initiatives support.
3. Relational Security – Safe Relationships
What helps you feel safe enough to trust, share, and ask for support at work? How can you create an environment where team members feel comfortable speaking up, offering feedback or voicing concerns without fear of judgement?
Relational security is about building trust and open communication within teams. For lawyers, this means fostering an environment where your staff feel empowered to discuss workloads, ask for help on challenging cases, and address mental health issues without fear of stigma.
Building relational security cannot be achieved solely through periodic events like team socials or implementing storytelling sessions, however helpful they may be in humanising and fostering empathy. These events are not enough on their own. If they aren’t consistently embedded in the everyday culture of the workplace, they risk being seen as box-ticking, superficial or performative. While such activities can certainly reduce stigma and encourage connection, the real work of relational security lies in creating regular, ongoing opportunities for genuine connection and open dialogue.
Sharing anything personal needs to happen at an individual’s own pace. There are many ways to create empathy and understanding. It’s about building environments where people feel comfortable sharing thoughts and feelings in their own way, and in their own time.
For relational security to be authentic, managers can support this by creating accessible channels for employees to engage – whether through informal check-ins, consistent team conversations, or safe spaces where employees can share concerns without judgement. It’s about fostering an environment where staff feel supported and confident in reaching out at any time – not just during designated moments.
Consistency, Regularity and Predictability
To build relational trust, employees need consistent support, not just in times of crisis. Regular communication and predictable responses help create confidence and make it easier for staff to open up. Knowing how you’ll respond during both positive and challenging situations builds security and trust. By consistently showing up for scheduled meetings and aligning your actions with your words, you create a reliable environment for open dialogue. This reliability fosters psychological safety and trust, promoting a culture where employees feel supported and valued.
Trauma Awareness
Understanding trauma is key to relational security. Managers don’t need to be mental health experts but should understand what trauma is and recognise how trauma shows up in the workplace. Lawyers are at risk of vicarious trauma because of repeated exposure to sensitive, distressing and traumatic material. That’s why knowing more about trauma and its impact can help increase empathy levels, sensitivity, and inform how you can best support your staff. For example, it may help to decide whether rotating tasks, scheduling recovery periods, establishing a buddy system, or reassigning a team member from a particularly stressful case is the best approach.
Consult Your Staff and Learn From Them
Engage with staff regularly to understand their needs and perspectives. This ongoing dialogue helps tailor support to the team’s specific needs, ensuring that solutions are relevant and meaningful. Sometimes, you may think a specific intervention will address an issue, when in fact, employees are seeking help and requiring another approach to reach the desired solution. By being open to their input, you might uncover insights that you hadn’t considered before. Meeting employees where they’re at ensures their needs are truly understood and effectively addressed.
Listen First, Act and Signpost
When employees seek support, it’s important to listen without judgement and take the time to fully understand their needs before offering solutions. Once you’ve gained clarity, take appropriate action in line with your firm’s policies, whether by providing direct support or guiding them to further resources. A thoughtful follow-up reinforces the sense that their well-being is a priority, helping to build trust and deepen relationships.
Putting It All Together
As we’ve explored, the three levels of security – physical, procedural and relational – form the foundation for helping employees stay safe and well at work. Protecting your team’s mental health and well-being requires a holistic and cohesive approach, where these three elements must work together in an integrated way.
At YTherapy, we support leaders and managers in navigating these complexities and bringing it all together. To learn more about our wellness programs and how you can implement a Safety-First approach and safeguard the well-being of your employees, contact us at 07958 555 308, email jamie@ytherapy.com, or visit YTherapy.com.