July 22, 2022
Mental health in the legal profession is seeing a dynamic shift. What was once a topic surrounded by stigma and shame, professionals and organizations alike are now engaging in more genuine discussions around it, sharing ideas and reassessing organizational behavior.
Torys director of legal learning and professional resources Emily Atkinson who co-leads the Wellness@Torys initiative asserted that Bay Street has been changing in an article by The Globe and Mail.
“Several large firms have shared ideas about how to respond to mental health issues, a process begun after last year’s mental health summit,” she said.
Most firms are monitoring workload. Torys uses technology that delays the sending of e-mails to reduce late-night communications. More people are discussing personal challenges and mental health issues openly.
“Part of what I think has been positive out of all of this is that we are having many, many more of those conversations, and they come much easier,” Emily said.
“I think it’s led us all to operate differently.”
At Torys, we have always cared a lot about our people’s mental health and overall wellness. We have shown great leadership in this area through our comprehensive mental health programming, resources and benefits and have worked hard to foster a safe and healthy workplace environment where talking about and nurturing our mental health and that of our colleagues is important and valued.
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