78% of legal marketers feel overwhelmed at work. And 71% feel that lawyers do not understand their role or the work they perform.
Our team surveyed marketing and business development professionals working at law firms in the United States (85%) and Canada (13%), and several other countries (2%). The resulting report looks at the daily stressors that marketing and business development professionals face in the legal industry.
These are just a couple of the findings from fSquared Marketing’s recently released 2024 Legal Marketing Mental Wellness Survey Report, produced in partnership with the Legal Marketing Association (LMA).
This research revealed:
• Overlooking professional staff: There is more attention given to the mental health of lawyers than to professional staff. 70% of respondents reported that there is a focus on the mental wellbeing of lawyers, while only 17% agreed there is a focus on the mental wellbeing of marketing and business professionals.
• Stress from overwork: 82% of respondents said they have too much work assigned to them, and 78% reported that they often feel overwhelmed at work. 79% rate their stress levels at 7/10 or higher.
• A lack of law firm support: Despite many firms offering formal support programs, 67% of respondents said they have not had enough support from their firms to handle the stress they experience in their roles. Even more so than mental health supports, 62% reported that additional / external resources to help their team on an ongoing basis would alleviate stress, while 54% wanted to see additional / external resources on project basis.
We invited survey participants to share their perspectives, and many responded with stories about their first-hand experiences. Some expressed feelings of despair and hopelessness, while others offered insightful critiques about building better workplaces.
“I love legal marketing, but the stress that comes from it is sometimes unbearable. I always feel like I need to be one step ahead of the attorneys or they won’t value my contribution or view me as trying to ‘keep up’ with them. The legal field in general is stressful and not addressed as much as it should be.”
– Survey Respondent
“The majority of our legal marketing colleagues experience high levels of stress,” says Lynn Foley, CEO of fSquared Marketing. “As we’ve found in the past, marketing professionals report that there is a greater focus on the mental health of lawyers than professional staff. With a lack of data available to validate their experiences, we decided to undertake the research ourselves starting in 2019. With our skills in research and visual storytelling, we knew that our team could help inform the conversation and provide some much-needed data to get some answers. We continue that endeavor today.”
Now in its fourth year, the 2024 Legal Marketing Mental Wellness Survey Report findings are consistent with those from previous years, citing overwork, a shortage of marketing resources and unrealistic expectations as contributors to workplace stress. Compounding these issues, many legal marketers report a lack of understanding of their roles by lawyers.
“There continues to be a strong business case for taking stress and mental health seriously,” says Lynn. “Research links workplace stress to burnout and employee mental wellness to individual and team performance. Law firms are sure to have a competitive advantage in a volatile market when they foster wellbeing in the workplace. To quote one respondent, ‘It is neither difficult nor costly to make a substantial impact that sustains.’”
We invite you to join the conversation: #LegalMarketingMentalWellbeing
Mental health and wellness have always been key issues for the team at fSquared Marketing.
When we realized that there was a marked lack of data on the mental wellbeing of legal marketers, we resolved to conduct our own research. In 2019, we conducted the first Legal Marketing Mental Wellness Survey. In 2020, in partnership with the Legal Marketing Association, we greatly expanded the survey, collecting responses from law firm marketing professionals, as well as legal marketing service providers, across the U.S., Canada, and at firms around the world.
8 Tips For Everyday Stress Management
Here are a few tips to help you reduce stress when you want to relax, or be more productive. Use these ideas for inspiration, and choose what’s right for you!
Meditating
Use techniques such as deep breathing, guided visualizations, mindfulness meditation, and yoga to relax the body.
Reduce the noise
Switching off from technology and the constant stimuli thrown at us is an important way to slow down. Make time for quiet.
Decompress
Place a hot towel or heating pad around your neck and shoulders for 10 minutes. Try rolling a tennis ball across stiff muscles.
Laughing out loud
Laughing lowers stress hormones, including cortisol, epinephrine, and adrenaline. It strengthens our immune system by releasing positive hormones.
Take a mental break
It can be hard to ease the constant noise in our minds, and sometimes a distraction helps. Try putting on a face mask, watching a movie, catching up with a friend, or doing something positive that takes your mind off things.
Take a movement break
All forms of exercise, including yoga and walking, can ease depression and anxiety by helping the brain release feel-good chemicals.
Sip some hot tea
Preferably one that’s low caffeine or caffeine free. The warmth and steam help soothe you from the inside out.
Turn up the tunes
Research shows that listening to soothing music can lower blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety. Need some inspiration? Scroll down to check out our custom playlists.
Are you stressed due to lack of resources in your marketing department?
We can help.
Add our custom playlists, guaranteed put you in a better mood.
Mellow Out
Want to chill out? Relax in the bath or just at your desk with these tunes playing softly in the background. spoti.fi/2ZAW6AF
Rock On
Sometimes when you’re stressed all you need is to vent. So crank up this playlist while you’re working out or punching your pillow. spoti.fi/2L17yBd
The 2022 Survey Results
The biennial Legal Marketing Mental Wellness Survey is complete and we have gathered the results. Please take a moment to view the infographic linked below that details these results. Thank you to all the legal marketers or service providers to legal marketers for sharing your valuable experiences.
The 2020 Report
Workplace stress as experienced by lawyers has been well documented in recent years; long hours and cases that have real-world impacts, as well as a ‘perfectionist’ culture, have led many lawyers to feel stressed out and overwhelmed. But what about marketing and business professionals in the legal industry: how are they doing?
Mental health and wellness have always been key issues for the team at fSquared Marketing. When we realized that there was a marked lack of data on the mental wellbeing of legal marketers, we resolved to conduct our own research. In 2019, we conducted the first Legal Marketing Mental Wellness Survey. In 2020, in partnership with the Legal Marketing Association, we greatly expanded the survey, collecting responses from more than 400+ law firm marketing professionals, as well as dozens of legal marketing service providers, across the U.S., Canada, and at firms around the world.
The results show that marketing professionals in the legal industry are dealing with high levels of stress and that COVID-19 has only ratcheted up the pressure. Legal marketers also report not having the resources and support they need to deal with work-related stress effectively. We have compiled these findings into an in-depth report, which we are pleased to share (at no cost) with law firms, universities, journalists, anyone and everyone with an interest in the legal industry.
in Partnership with the Legal Marketing Association
