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Law360 (June 11, 2020, 10:06 PM EDT ) Nearly a third of general counsel report experiencing high or very high burnout amid the COVID-19 outbreak, while a majority say they are working more hours than usual, according to the results of a survey released Thursday by the Association of Corporate Counsel.
More than 53% of the 460 respondents said they are working more hours now because they're working remotely, with about 40% saying they're working the same number of hours as they were before the pandemic, according to the ACC. Nine out of 10 respondents said they are working remotely, and less than 10% have faced furloughs, the survey found.
"Members repeatedly shared with us how the stress of these responsibilities were impacting their well-being and overall mental health," Tori Payne, vice president and chief membership officer at the ACC, said in a release. "The results from this flash poll provide some insights that COVID-19 is taking an emotional toll on the in-house community, but that they are also an incredibly optimistic and resilient group of professionals."
Nearly half of respondents reported feeling tired or having little energy and having trouble sleeping or relaxing, while 43% reported feeling anxious, the survey found. Still, more than 83% of the survey takers rated their emotional state as somewhat good, very good or extremely good.
Three-quarters of the respondents reported at least a moderate level of burnout, with more than 30% reporting high or very high burnout.
The survey, which was the third from the organization since the start of the pandemic, was open from June 3 to 8. The initial survey, which was open in late March with results in early April, focused on how companies were responding to the transition.
More than 68% of the 277 respondents said their department was "very well prepared" for the shift to remote work, with another 27% saying their department was "somewhat prepared," the ACC said after that initial survey. Just over 3% of respondents said their legal department was "somewhat unprepared," with 1.5% saying they were "not prepared at all."
"Overall, in-house legal departments are holding up," the group said, reviewing that survey's results. "The results also show that legal departments are busy contributing to the development of contingency plans, assessing and advising business leaders on risk issues, and handling the [labor and employment]-related effects of the pandemic."
In the first survey, nearly 65% of respondents said they were assessing and advising business leaders on risks associated with new supplier relationships, while 63% said they were participating in contingency planning related to potential failures or gaps in the supply chain, the ACC said. Nearly half said they were renegotiating contracts with suppliers, while 41% said they were negotiating new contracts.
--Editing by Philip Shea.
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