Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 10-14 May and the Law Society of Scotland is running a free, daily programme of events.
Mental health affects us all. Some tools and conversations are universal, so some of the events are relevant to everyone. Others are designed to be more specific to legal professionals at different stages. From students to managing partners, there will be an event targeted to you.
Why should law firms participate in mental health awareness week?
Olivia Moore, Careers and Wellbeing Manager at the Law Society of Scotland, recently discussed how marking mental health days can help employers take an active role in supporting their staff. She said:
When we talk to workplaces about mental health and how they can support staff, one of the things that we at the Society, and many mental health charities, suggest is participating in mental health campaigns like Time to Talk Day, Stress Awareness Week or World Mental Health Day.
Yet, it’s easy to think that taking part in such events is just a tick-box exercise or an ‘easy fix’ that might help employers look good but doesn’t actually deal with mental health issues and concerns within the workplace.
To be honest, I used to be a bit sceptical about their purpose, largely for these very reasons. But the longer I have been involved in Lawscot Wellbeing and the mental health agenda more generally, the more I have realised how powerful they can be.