Festival ‘brought contradictions into the open’
Law Society Psychological Services’ recent Well Within the Law festival featured in a recent Financial Times (FT) feature on the “strange” nature of work and the importance of humour in the workplace.
The article explored the rise of stress and anxiety in the workplace and, in particular, an “epidemic of malaise” among high-earning professionals – including lawyers – identified by workplace consultant Christine Armstrong.
The FT said that, despite their high status and apparently interesting jobs, many spent their energy navigating endless internal politics.
Absurdists
It said that the recent Law Society event, the theme of which was ‘This is absurd’, had aimed to bring these contradictions into the open.
It quoted festival organiser Antoinette Moriarty as saying that the festival sought to “address the inevitability of people feeling overwhelmed and overworked”.
“We looked to literature, and the absurdists are a group of writers who invite us to accept what’s happening and try to make sense of it, and in the process of doing that, the relief comes,” she told the newspaper.