Research: Half of lawyers suffer ‘Sunday night fear’

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By Thomas Connelly on

Over 60% call in sick as a result

Half of lawyers suffer from Sunday night blues, according to new research, with many admitting that they’ve pulled a sicky as a result.

The research, produced by online job website CV-Library, found that 50% of “legal industry” workers suffer from Sunday night fear, compared to 46.4% of social care staff and 46.2% of sales employees.

Electronics (50%) and leisure/tourism (50%) tied with the legal sector in second place, leaving media to top the Sunday blues table with 66.7%.

Nearly two-thirds (61.5%) of legal professionals amitted they had phoned in sick because they were too worried to go to work.

Other industries surveyed were finance (43.6%), agriculture (42.9%), marketing (42.9%) and automotive (40.9%) The study polled 2,000 UK employees, including 50 legal professionals.

Lee Biggins, CEO and founder of CV-Library, said: “If your employees suffer from Sunday night fear on a regular basis then it’s time to evaluate your company culture. Employees that feel stressed are often less productive, less efficient and, as the data shows, are far more likely to ‘pull a sickie’.”

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Despite legal professionals dreading their return to work after the weekend, one in five (20%) actually claim that Monday is their favourite day of the working week. Unsurprisingly, the majority (60%) revealed Friday is their favourite day.

Eighty-percent of all respondents said they feel better about the week once Wednesday is done and they’re “over the hump”.

Biggins added:

“It’s important to encourage managers to discuss workloads with any staff members that appear to be struggling; and offer support where possible. By encouraging employees to foster a healthy work-life balance, you’ll be future-proofing your business by attracting and retaining the best professionals in your industry. However, if you neglect to look after your staff, you may find it difficult to expand your operations and reach your company goals.”

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