Why Prioritize
Wellness?
By Mark Bassingthwaighte
It should come as no surprise that wellness has become a front and
center topic in recent years, particularly in the legal profession; but I
have a wellness confession to make. In spite of being a risk manager
for over 20 years and knowing how devastating various attorney
impairments can be, I have been slow to personally embrace the
wellness movement.
All I can say is the rise of things like goat yoga and the seemingly
unending flood of articles and opportunities pushing mindfulness
never spoke to me; and truth be told, tended to desensitize me to
the importance of prioritizing wellness. My personal response was
this is overkill. There’s no way I was ever going to get excited about
having some goat climb up my back as I try to figure out how to
properly execute a downward facing dog pose, and I still don’t quite
understand how I can be more present in any given moment than I
already am. Now, don’t get me wrong, if goat yoga and or the practice
of mindfulness works for you, that’s awesome, I think it truly is. Stay
the course! It’s just that neither do it for me.
That said, life has a funny way of changing one’s responses and
opinions, especially when one takes the time to look and listen.
Suffice it to say that personal and professional experiences over
the past few years have shed some light on the value of personally
prioritizing wellness, which leads me to the title of this post.
While the answer to why prioritize wellness will differ for each and
every one of us, there is at least one reason to do so and is something
we all have in common. None of us are getting any younger and we
only have one life to work with. Seems to me that doing all we can to
make the most of the life we’ve each been given is reason enough to
prioritize wellness.
What I find most interesting, however, are answers that pertain
to workplace settings. Based upon personal work experiences and
extensive observations of law firms of all shapes and sizes, it has
become abundantly clear to me that law firms that prioritize the
wellness of all who work there are more successful than those that
don’t. You can feel it when you first walk in. People are happy and
there’s an energy about the place. In time, I’ll often also learn that
turnover is low to nonexistent, the firm has a strong growth curve,
and clients are paying their bills. In short, wellness sells. Yes, it’s a
passive play; but that doesn’t make it any less relevant. Prioritizing
wellness will positively impact the bottom-line, period.
So, don’t be like me and let an unfounded belief that you need
to participate in or offer goat yoga or mindfulness therapy on a
weekly basis stop you from prioritizing wellness. Sometimes even
the simplest of efforts can bring about dramatic change. It might
be starting to subsidize gym memberships and/or purchasing
ergonomic office equipment as part of a benefit package, adopting a
policy that permits employees to take stretch breaks, or recognizing
and prioritizing the importance of time off, to include vacations.
Of course, all attorneys will need to practice what is preached in
that regard. A firm might also encourage everyone to leave work at
reasonable times, and again, attorneys will need to lead by example,
or it could be organizing regular informal lunch gatherings or the
occasional afternoon ice cream social as a way to boost morale and
encourage involvement. Of course, a list like this can go on and on.
As I see it, the possibilities here are only going to be limited by an
unwillingness to make wellness a priority. Don’t let this hold true for
your firm, because again, wellness sells.
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ALPS Risk Manager Mark Bassingthwaighte, Esq., has conducted more than 1,000 law firm risk management
assessment visits, presented numerous continuing legal education seminars throughout the United States, and
written extensively on risk management and technology. Check out his recent seminars to assist you with your
solo practice by visiting our on-demand CLE library at alps.inreachce.com. Bassingthwaighte can be contacted at
[email protected].
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THE GAVEL