To mark the start of Mental Health Awareness Week 2021, Ardent Legal Recruitment has pledged to support better mental health and wellbeing within the within the legal sector.
Before the Covid-19 Pandemic hit crisis point last year, a report carried out by Deloitte (published January 2020) highlighted that poor mental health costs UK employers up to £45 billion per year.
Skip forward to 2021 and the International Bar Association’s initial results from a global evaluation into the wellbeing of the legal profession, confirmed that lawyer wellbeing is a cause for concern. 41% of those surveyed said they feel unable to discuss wellbeing issues with their employer or colleagues due to the stigma surrounding mental health.
The effects of the pandemic will have heightened struggles with mental health in the legal profession, and with this in mind, Ardent’s entire team has been enrolled in a Mental Health First Aid program, supported by Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England.
Commenting on why Ardent have decided now is the time to make this commitment, Director, Jane Gaunt, said: “Mental Health and Wellbeing has always been an important company focus, however with the events of last year and the current state of the pandemic, we felt it is now time, more than ever to truly look after our team and those we work with.
Gerry Arbuckle, Director, added: “Training our staff to become Mental Health First Aiders means we can support our team, our clients and our candidates during a period of real challenges, both personally and professionally.”
