A comprehensive report released in the 2020 Journal of The Professional Lawyer which surveyed more than 1,000 judges across the United States suggests job stress has become a serious health concern in the state judicial ranks, with about one-third or more reporting fatigue and low energy, sleep disturbance or disturbed attention and concentration. The survey was carried out before the pandemic.

Interestingly, for stress relief, mindfulness was endorsed as a current activity by 36% of responders, although 81% of the judges were interested in it. The report concluded that this "suggests that the 45% gap may reflect a potential for further training in this highly effective resiliency skill."

To read the full report, click here.

This report published two years ago by the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime is the most comprehensive report on global judicial wellbeing ever compiled with data from 758 members of the judiciary and staff in 102 countries. The key findings make hard reading and it's clear that more must be done to raise awareness and promote open dialogue on the challenges faced by the judiciary and their support staff.

The key findings include the following:

One of the interesting findings was that many of the survery participants appreciated their judiciary's efforts to promote wellbeing but would welcome continued online training opportunities to promote work-life balance, wellness or mindfulness, self-care courses and group support with colleagues.

To read the full report, click here.