The legal profession is subject to many stereotypes, and it is difficult to find figures in France on the reality of the psychological difficulties in this profession. Burnout is especially a significant problem among these professionals. Practicing as a lawyer may involve high levels of stress and burnout. This study aimed at testing how exhaustion was influenced by workload, latitude and engagement. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 181 French lawyers. Based on the results, the level of burnout among lawyers decreased with decision latitude but increased with workload. Mediation analyses showed that work engagement and over-engagement had a total mediating role between latitude and burnout. Over-engagement played a partial mediating role between workload and burnout. Several practical implications were developed from these results.
Keywords: burnout; engagement; latitude; lawyers; workaholism; workload.
© 2022 The Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law.