It’s no secret that the legal industry has a severe issue regarding burnout and low job satisfaction. For legal firms and companies looking to expand their legal department, effectively recruiting and talent retention often comes down to avoiding your employees burnout. 

Avoiding burnouts does not just aid in boosting employee satisfaction, it also improves productivity and increases talent retention. 

Get help during crunch time

Some periods are just a lot busier than others. If you don’t adjust the size of your workforce to the increased workload, people will get burned out. The effects of this added stress won’t just be apparent during ‘crunch time’ but will often remain long after. 

A freelance legal consultant can help you out when the stress levels are high when your workforce is confronted with tight deadlines and a significantly increased crunch time. 

The main benefit of a freelancer is that they can plug in the gaps for a set amount of time with particular niche expertise. This allows you to get the help you need, exactly where and when you need it. 

Plan for (long-term) absentees

A long-term absentee can throw a wrench into your workflow. Having the resources available to cover for (long-term) absentees quickly and effectively helps you avoid burning out the rest of the employees.

There are multiple exciting options to fill in the gaps the absentee leaves. You can implement a flexible working space where people have many roles and can quickly get up to speed with new tasks. 

Another option is to always have some leeway in your deadlines and work allocation, which avoids burnout during times with more work. Another viable option is to foster excellent relations with competent legal interims who can help you out on short notice when there is an absentee. 

Allow flexibility on the employees terms

As an employer, you likely expect a certain degree of flexibility from your employees. The same goes for your employees. Your workforce expects you to be flexible when certain events (the loss of a loved one, burnout, a medical emergency) come up. 

A great way to go above and beyond in providing flexibility to your employees is by allowing them to work at home. Working from home does not just give them the ability to work in an environment where they feel comfortable; they avoid one of the main stress factors: commuting. 

Note: Make sure that you do not disturb the work-life balance of your employees when they are working at home—making your employees feel like they are on call 24/7 while at home can also induce a significant amount of stress. 

Have the right people on speed dial

Having a reliable legal interim on speed dial is one of the best ways to prevent your permanent workforce from burning out. So often, when specific issues are not clear-cut and significant resources have to be dedicated to solving problems, people experience an unhealthy amount of stress. 

A freelance legal consultant can help you when your current workforce needs extra help or breathing room. Getting competent external help quickly is one of the best ways to ensure your firm or business remains productive, and your employees don’t suffer from burnout.  

Limine allows you to find component freelance legal interims which suit your needs in record time. Then, when you make an account on Limine and post the assignment you need external help for, our algorithm gets to work and recommends the three most suitable freelancers for your needs.