April can be a cheerful month, with days lengthening, flowers blooming and Spring finally in the air. But it is also a stressful time for many, with the end of the tax year focusing attention on financial matters.
This year we have the added fiscal burden of higher energy prices and water bills and a rise in National Insurance (NI), not to mention concerns around US Tariffs and the wider economy. So, it feels particularly fitting that April 2025 is Stress Awareness Month.
Working in the mortgage market comes with plenty of stress all year round, which we may not always acknowledge, let alone seek to counterbalance.
Ours is a wonderful, sociable industry, full of positive, can-do people, and the work we do is very valuable to our customers. It can be highly rewarding. Nevertheless, mortgage lenders and brokers operate in an environment of constant pressure.
We need to make decisions and meet deadlines on an hourly basis. Can we or can’t we make an offer on this case? Will I be able to close this deal? The impact of our actions may not be life or death, but they do affect people’s lives in a very real way.
Moving house is one of the top three most stressful experiences most people go through, right up there with divorce and bereavement. But securing any kind of property finance, from bridging to buy-to-let, is not without tension for the borrower.
Mortgage brokers routinely experience some transference of this stress, adding to the pressure of the job.
We also have to work through additional pressures, such as periods of volatile interest rates and subsequent product withdrawals, which can be particularly stressful for brokers who may have to explain complex financial concepts to disappointed customers – and then arrange their cases again.
We all deal with spikes in business when rates or taxes are cut. Healthy activity is very welcome, but occasionally the workload can be overwhelming. The rush to beat the recent Stamp Duty deadline was a case in point.
Long working hours are endemic in the mortgage industry. Our MIMHC Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey, carried out last summer, revealed that 49% of respondents were working between 45 and 60 hours a week, 10% between 60 and 75 hours a week and 3% more than 75 hours.
I’m willing to bet those figures would have looked a lot higher in March this year. After all that effort, around 70,000 mortgage cases failed to complete on time, leaving those borrowers with bigger Stamp Duty bills and their brokers and lenders with an added layer of stress.
All of this adds up to a significant stress burden, carried by many thousands of people in our industry. Stress can play havoc with our mental and physical health, our ability to function at work and home, our ability to cope.
Stress makes it hard for us to concentrate. It causes headaches and upset stomachs and keeps us from sleeping. Stress can cause or exacerbate existing anxiety and depression. Chronic stress can worsen pre-existing health conditions and lead us to use more alcohol, tobacco or other substances.
There is no way to remove stress entirely from our working lives, but we can combat the worst of it using simple techniques. Talking is absolutely crucial – honest communication with a colleague, friend or partner makes a huge difference. The old saying that ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ does carry some water.
Getting adequate sleep helps, and meditation is said to be a great antidote to stress, though I must confess I have not mastered it myself! Exercising – whether that is cold water swimming or simply going for a walk – boosts the production of neurotransmitters in the brain, alleviating stress. Eating well, limiting screen time…these are all basic measures, but they can really make a difference to our mental health.
The challenge for us as an individuals is making the time in our lives to incorporate these behaviours. The challenge to us as an industry is to encourage and enable these behaviours and prioritise the wellness of every individual working in mortgages.
More than 200 signatories to the Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter have pledged to place mental health on their radar. Visit the website to sign up.
Jason Berry is co-founder of the Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter (MIMHC)
