Keywords
stress at work
working hours
workload
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Abstract
People working in the legal professions are particularly vulnerable to work-related stress. So far, studies conducted mainly in the United States show that lawyers are experiencing mental health problems, and this applies to every third person working in such professions. However, there are still no analyses of the health and well-being of Polish lawyers. This article presents a part of the results of a nationwide survey on the well-being of representatives of this professional group, which aimed to fill this gap. The main research problem concerned the determination of the level of stress experienced by Polish lawyers. Our goal was also to determine how much time lawyers spend engaged in their work (what is the quantitative workload) and how it relates to their perceived stress at work. It was also important to analyse the stress experienced by lawyers in the context of the stage of professional career development, the legal profession, and the field of law practiced by them. The results of the research (N = 1,779) indicate that the level of stress perceived at work by Polish lawyers is high, regardless of the legal profession they work in or in what field of law they practice, both at the beginning of their careers and by experienced professionals. The heavy workload, which constitutes a serious risk factor for the deterioration of their health, is also a source of concern.
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