Clifford Chance's anti-stress programme for trainees is being rolled out across the firm.

CC introduced its Performance Optimisation Programme a year ago, with the aim of developing a race of Nietzschean Super Lawyers who can be beasted into the ground "more resilient individuals who are able to sustain their performance with the capability to cope and adapt when faced with periods of pressure and challenging situations*".  And apparently it's worked. The firm's grad rec and development manager, Laura Yeates, claimed that there had been a reduction is absence levels since the programme was introduced, and said that the firm had been able to identify and help those who needed occupational health support at an earlier stage.

    A CC trainee yesterday

The programme involves face-to-face workshops and unspecified "monthly communications". Whether this means CC has actually banned communication at other times is unclear, but the programme is presumably more effective than the usual self-medication of caffeine and gin. Although possibly not as effective as simply reducing workload to a vaguely manageable level.

CC says that the programme has raised awareness of mental health issues, and as such has helped remove the stigma that can be attached to them. The firm has now started trialling a version of the programme for its senior associates.

*We are the Borg. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile.
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Comments

Anonymous 04 April 14 09:08

What is worrying about this is not that CC (or other firms) are seeking to address the causes of stress in the workplace (e.g. caused by pervasive bullying, total lack of empathy from co-workers, deliberate hazing-type behaviour in general) and how to stop those causes, it is in fact another form of bullying, but even worse because it is firm-led, (i.e. the firm is implicitly saying you will not feel stress and if you do, we'll weed you out.) Something more scary than 1984 about all this.

Anonymous 04 April 14 09:11

No surprises here given CC's preference to recruit punk kids still in uni with limited previous employment and only other experiences of being under stress is trying to complete mario kart on 150cc whilst on ketamine.

Doubt the scheme will work across the firm; associates have far more pressing issues i.e. hitting wholly unrealistic targets set by its neolithic management board.

Anonymous 04 April 14 09:53

Just let them crack - the pressure the associates feel is no different to their Oxbridge physchosis, hot-housing at expensive public schools and the weight of expectation from pushy parents - and the nervous breakdown might actually get them off the treadmill and let them do something meaningful with their life.

Anonymous 04 April 14 09:55

Trying to complete mario kart on ketamine has given me an idea for a new recruitment group exercise. Many thanks.

Anonymous 04 April 14 11:27

It is depressing (no pun intended) how all the comments on this topic are so cynical. Yes lawyers have a lot of pressure - but then they are paid hugely. Anything that teaches people how to deal with and manage stress in life must surely be a good thing.

Anonymous 04 April 14 13:23

All we know from this story is that CC have introduced a stress-reduction program (with a silly management-speak name) and absences have reduced (apparently) as a result.

This indicates one of two things. EITHER the program has worked and lawyers at CC are less stressed OR CC lawyers no longer feel able to take time off to deal with stress because they are being told that the new program has successfully cured any stress related problems that may previously have existed.

It's impossible to know which it is although as AU at 08:08 correctly points out, this program is aimed entirely at cure, not prevention.

Anonymous 04 April 14 15:54

A bit of realism required here. Those who choose to work for Firms like CC go in with their eyes open. They know what will be expected of them. They choose to sacrifice their private lives because (a) if they can climb the ladder they will benefit from the obscene rewards currently "earned" by others through their insane workloads; and (b) even if they cannot, having a Firm like CC on your CV doesn't hurt your general career prospects. So, to those who would bleat about workloads in such Firms, man-up or ship out and don't expect sympathy because your champagne went warm when you took it into the sauna.

Anonymous 04 April 14 16:02

Very much a double edged sword to actually use the service as one will identify oneself as being under stress which is unlikely to help career prospects (of course they will say it is all "anonymous" etc but very unlikely to be so in practice).

Anonymous 04 April 14 16:37

The anti-stress programme is actually really good: every Friday afternoon Matthew Layton comes round and gives me a back rub at my desk.

Anonymous 04 April 14 17:01

What I don't get is this: If I were a client and I was aware that my magic circle firm was full of stressed out lawyers, I'd run a mile. Do I really want my work handled by a bunch of sleep walkers dosed up on Red Bull and Pro Plus? Surely there must be a gap in the market for a firm which says "We're not in it only for the money - we're the John Lewis Partnership of the legal world" or words to that effect. Norton Rose had a stab at it back at the start of the recession when, after consultation with their staff, people voted to go on a four day week rather than have redundancies. I have no connection with Norton Rose (Fulbright) but I have never forgotten that.

Anonymous 04 April 14 18:43

CC would be more radical if they treated the sources of stress rather than training junior employes on how to deal with stress