Work-Life Balance in the Legal Profession: Why It Matters for Attorneys in Wisconsin
In today's society, many people have the perspective that lawyers have it all: The money, the success, and the respect. In the world's eyes, these seem to be all that an individual needs to be happy, but what many don’t realize and don’t talk about is the major challenge that comes along with having these three aspects. For many lawyers, the workday doesn't end when they turn off their office lights. Filing things for the court, getting phone calls from clients, and the endless amount of paperwork often follow attorneys home. Due to this, many attorneys interfere with their work-life balance and ultimately their work turns into their life. The constant pressure to always be working to meet certain deadlines, please clients, and maintain a good reputation in the legal field pushes many lawyers beyond their limits. A majority or if not all individuals start their legal profession career excited to help people and make a difference, but after a few years this tends to change. After all of the late nights and long hours, the stress of an individual starts to take over. As stated, the pressure to meet certain deadlines, please clients, and stay at the top makes it very difficult for an attorney to ever relax. Even when they are home, their mind is still focused on work. Whether this is from thinking about the next case or what still needs to be done, an attorney's mind is always thinking about the next move they are going to take in order to succeed in their field of work.
One of the reasons why I believe work tends to take over an attorney's life is because of greed. You see, for as long as I can remember, the legal system often tends to put money before people. In today's society, a majority of law firms prioritize profits and billable hours over the health and happiness of their attorneys. At a Law Firm, attorneys who work long hours are praised , while on the other hand, attorneys who take time off are seen as lazy. Due to this, it creates a culture where people feel obligated to push themselves past their limits in order to prove they're dedicated to their work. This leads to my next segment
Another reason an attorney's work takes over their personal life is due to pride. Many attorneys believe they have to uphold the image of always looking strong and capable of anything. They don’t want to admit when they’re tired or need help because in the world's eyes, this shows weakness. Lawyers believe that working harder makes them better, but in reality, they're slowly killing themselves with the amount of work they put themselves through. Working all these long hours makes these individuals exhausted and unhappy. Pride plays a big factor in blinding attorneys and making them think that rest is a sign of weakness. When in reality they are human, like the rest of us.
When work starts to take over and attorneys lose balance between their professional and personal lives, the impact reaches beyond them. It also affects their families, friends, and clients as well. A tired attorney can’t think clearly or argue strongly. The long hours that are supposed to lead lawyers to success can actually lead to mistakes and burnout.
In conclusion, work-life balance is something very important, and it’s something that every attorney should value just as much as they value their career success. No matter how demanding the legal field and while, dedication is important. It’s also important to know when to rest. Greed and pride can easily take over, and because of this, many attorneys forget why they wanted to be in the legal profession in the first place.