(Author) Director of Legal Operations:

As we come to the close of this year, I'm starting to recognize just how ragged my team is. I really want to do right by them and make sure that we have resources set in place to help them. - What strategies do you employ to ensure a healthy work-life balance for your legal operations team, especially under high workloads?

Legal Operations Responses:

• We’ve implemented 'No Meeting Fridays' to give our team a day free of interruptions. It allows them to focus on work or take time for themselves, which has been great for morale. It makes sense for us to have it on Friday and less decisions are made during that day.
  • That's a great idea. We've introduced flexible working hours. Team members can start and end their day at times that suit their personal commitments, as long as the work gets done. This was something we started during the pandemic and it really helped a lot of us get through the week.
• Flexibility is key. We have a hybrid policy where employees can work from home two days a week. It helps me and other parents in the office manage personal stuff and generally reduces commute stress (which can be a lot where I live).
• We've been encouraging our team to take regular short breaks throughout the day. We even installed a relaxation area in the office. It’s important for mental health, especially during busy periods. As a side note: this also helps the introverts in the office to have some quiet throughout their day when they need it. 
• We focus a lot on mental health. Our company offers free counseling sessions and has a subscription to a meditation app. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
• We've started setting realistic deadlines and expectations. We made it about managing workload proactively rather than reacting when stress levels are already high. Honestly, it's taken a while for all of us to adjust because we all come from that "work until you drop" mentality from BigLaw, but it's been therapeutic for all of us.
• Continuous communication is vital. We hold weekly check-ins to ensure workloads are manageable and provide support where needed. We decided that creating an environment where it’s okay to say you’re overwhelmed is important for productivity.
• We encourage our team to take their vacation days. There’s a culture in law of not taking time off, but we’re trying to change that mindset. Everyone needs time to recharge.
• We’ve implemented a 'buddy system' where team members pair up to support each other during high-pressure periods. It helps distribute the workload and creates a sense of camaraderie. The only thing we have to look out for is making sure it's not cliquey. 
• In addition to flexible hours, we offer personal days that you can't use for sick days. These extra days off are so employees can take a break, no questions asked.
• We've emphasized the importance of 'unplugging' after work hours. We discourage sending emails outside business hours unless it's an emergency. We decided what wasn't working before was the concept of personal time vs. work time.
• Regular wellness workshops have been our go-to for stress management. These include sessions on stress management, nutrition, and exercise. We also encourage 'walking meetings' to get people moving so there's less desk time.
• We use a workload management tool that helps us visualize each team member's capacity. It prevents overloading and helps in redistributing tasks more evenly. We also let people set their limits within this capacity monitoring based on what they have going on in their lives. This sort of forces transparency and making sure that people are advocating for themselves.
• Our approach has been to encourage a culture where taking breaks and vacations is seen as necessary, not a luxury. We actively remind staff to use their leave and not to feel guilty about it.
• We have a policy where staff can take an afternoon off every two weeks on a rotational basis. It's a small break, but it goes a long way in preventing burnout.

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