Law firms have rolled out a number of initiatives to help their workforces combat poor mental health during the coronavirus pandemic. The initiatives come amid U.K. Mental Health Awareness Week kicked off, with research by charity LawCare revealing on Monday the extent of the stress caused by the current climate on the industry.

Allen & Overy has introduced a global monthly survey to gather feedback on how staff are faring while working from home, as well as any concerns that its global staff may have during the crisis. 

The survey includes a specific question on mental health but also questions on people's ability to create boundaries between home and work.

The survey was launched earlier this month by the firm's newly-elected managing partner Gareth Price and is being run by the firm's wellbeing and HR teams, with senior management kept informed on its findings so that the results can inform initiatives, a spokesperson for the firm said in a statement.

"This is the first time we have measured mental health (we have previously asked questions about overall wellbeing in our annual engagement surveys) and it will give us insights that inform future interventions as well as a baseline from which to measure the impact of those interventions," said the firm's head of wellbeing, Toni Graves, in a statement.

The firm added that all partners will attend a mental health training course over the course of 2020, which entails a half-day session focusing on the role leaders can play in creating healthier workplaces.

Hogan Lovells regional managing partner for the U.K. and Africa Susan Bright said that the firm was using the challenges presented by the COVID-19 lockdown "as an excuse to look again at our mental health repository to make sure we have what people need".

"This crisis — and us moving our entire workforce to remote working — has created its own challenges where being really focused on the mental wellbeing of your people is even more crucial."

She added that the firm has hosted sessions for staff and lawyers that are working while taking care of their families to help people to share what they're going through, and that new starters at the firm such as trainees have been paired up with more senior lawyers to improve their early experience.

CMS, Pinsent Masons and Simmons & Simmons meanwhile have created online wellbeing hubs and tool kits for staff to access during the pandemic.

Simmons said that its hub provides staff with resources for dealing with issues such as loneliness and anxiety, physical exercise, home-schooling and other activities for children.

CMS recently launched an online resilience tool called 'Space from COVID-19', and has also created a support group called 'Home Alone' aimed at those living alone or away from loved ones.

Taylor Wessing, meanwhile, has granted its incoming trainee cohort access to the firm's premium account on mental wellbeing app Headspace.

A&O and Travers Smith meanwhile have signed up to the Mindful Business Charter — an initiative started in 2018 by Barclays in collaboration with Addleshaw Goddard and Pinsent Masons aimed at driving change in the ways leading banks and law firms work.

The initiatives come as lawyers across the industry express the challenges they are facing as the impact of the lockdown.

Recent research by lawyers mental health charity LawCare has found that lawyers are most concerned about being forced to return to the office and financial pressures exacerbated by the pandemic.

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