International Week of Happiness at Work

This week marks ‘International Week of Happiness at Work’ – a chance for us to reflect on the things that make us happy when we’re doing our jobs, whether that’s at home or at the office.

In any profession, colleagues spend a lot of time at work and team mates often become more like family, which is why we believe it’s important to love what you do and enjoy the environment you’re in.

The legal profession often comes under fire for long working hours and ever-increasing workloads but in contrast, we’re creating a flexible workplace which we believe improves performance and wellbeing at every level.

Our longest standing staff members have been with us for over 30 years, and we have continued to recruit into our growing team. Without our people, Bell Lamb & Joynson Solicitors wouldn’t be where it is today, 200 years on from when it was first established in 2021.

In today’s blog, we’re sharing the ways in which we continue to support our team, ensuring that every week here is a happy one.

Training and Investment

Throughout our recent history we’ve seen a number of our colleagues rise the ranks and secure promotions within the firm and externally with judicial and non-judicial appointments.  Professional development remains at the top of our agenda.

We believe that investing into people is crucial in moving the business forward and we’re incredibly pleased to say that we have staff currently undergoing legal qualifications to help them advance in their career journeys with us, while enabling them to provide the best possible service to our clients. In 2021 five training contracts were awarded to develop future lawyers and we are investigating significant resources into continued training and development right across the firm over the next 12 months.

We’re advocates of supporting the next generation of legal professionals and have always supported apprenticeships across the firm and currently have two apprentices working with us. In fact, several colleagues that started with us on apprenticeship schemes are still with us in permanent roles years later.

Wellbeing Resources

Over the course of the last 18 months, wellbeing has been more critical then ever and with so many professional and personal challenges to contend with, it’s been a high priority for us to honour our duty of care to everyone within the firm.

Through the height of lockdowns to the unprecedented volume of cases the firm received in the last 12 months, we’ve always operated with a support culture at the heart of what we do. Our team have regular daily contact with each other even when working remotely and a helping hand is only ever a phone or video call away.

We champion positive health and wellbeing through an online support hub which offers colleagues everything from wellness advice to yoga and workouts.

Open Door Culture

We believe that every person within this firm adds value and so we operate an open-door policy whereby management are always accessible, and conversation is welcomed. Whether there is a personal issue at home, or a professional matter that needs addressing, we encourage staff to speak to their department heads openly and instil a culture with no judgement.

Modern and Flexible Working 

It’s no surprise that the pandemic has changed the way we approach work. At one point we were operating across all departments from home and now, as things start to return to ‘normal’, we’re introducing flexible and hybrid working combining time in the office with remote working.

We’ve always had flexible working in place allowing for a proper work/life balance within a typically rigid sector and our paperless processes and use of technology has made this possible longer term. Our team can work in a way that suits them, around commitments such as childcare, while still delivering an award-winning service seamlessly and efficiently.

We always listen to our colleagues and take their feedback on board with any major decision in the firm and as a result we’ve created a positive environment that has contributed to our growth as a firm in recent years.