It’s no secret that us mortgage brokers are suffering from burnout and have been for some time. There are many reasons for this to occur, but often it is more than one single factor but a multitude of drivers that, when unaddressed ultimately lead to burn out.
July 21, 2024
Burnout is more than simply feeling tired or spent.
The World Health Organisation classes burnout within three key areas:
• sustained feelings of exhaustion
• feelings of personal inefficacy
• increased mental distance from one’s job (typically involving feelings of negativity or cynicism).
We can be affected by these in different ways. So it is worthwhile trying to figure out what is exactly is causing the burnout.
To help, ask yourself some of these questions to pin down what is indeed driving your burnout.
I am not talking about simply feeling tired at the end of the week. I am talking being totally knackered, fatigue that has being built up over a long period of time. If this sounds like you, ask yourself:
• What one or two things have been most exhausting or stressful for you?
• What has been stopping you from taking regular breaks or getting out of the office?
• What energises you that has been missing from your work or your life?
The loss of energy that comes with burnout comes from many factors. The way the mortgage industry is right now, and has been, will be a driver but not necessarily the only one.
Is it client expectations?
Expectations you place on yourself?
Do you delegate enough?
A reluctance to reach out for help, or just say to someone “I’m burnt out”?
Us brokers often get energy from each other – so have you interacted with others enough?
Working in mortgages does feel like you are pushing water up a hill. This creates feelings of frustration and a big sense of a lack of achievement in our work.
To determine feelings of helplessness, ask yourself:
• Where do I feel the most ineffective?
• What is most frustrating or getting in my way?
• What is taking significantly more energy than it should?
These feelings may be due to frequent rate changes or regulations, which we can’t control. Sometimes just realising things are out of our control and shrugging our shoulders is the best solution. Then solve what you can control.
Feeling disengaged from your job is a sign of burnout. If this sounds like you ask yourself:
• What is making you feel disengaged?
• What did you previously enjoy but no longer do?
This is often harder to answer.
But asking yourself all these questions will help you to uncover core issues to diagnose what’s causing your burnout. It’s likely to be a combination of factors, requiring a number of changes over time to fully address it, which will take time but the sooner the journey to resolve it begins, the sooner the journey ends.
Us brokers are so important to our clients, we need to find the answers together and help one another.