It’s 6am on Monday. The first thing you do after waking up is reach for your work phone to answer e-mails.
You get to work at 8am, take a 15-minute lunch break (sat at your desk), leave at 6pm, go for drinks with clients, get home at 9pm, answer your e-mails while eating dinner, and go to bed.
Then you lie in bed. Awake. You didn’t get in touch with Steve about that deal. You didn’t have time to set up that meeting with Sarah. You set your alarm for 5.30am so you can get into work early the next day to sort it all out.
Two weeks later, you’re on holiday. You considered leaving your phone behind at the hotel but the thought of work being unable to contact you is out of the question – so you’re on the beach, phone lying beside you. You answer some calls and ring the office to make sure that tricky client is happy.
You end up getting your laptop out to sort out a few things, cancelling your dinner plans to deal with some tasks that need your urgent attention.
When you get back to work, there is a mountain of e-mails waiting for you. You stay at the office later and later. You set your alarm earlier and earlier.
You’re having trouble getting to sleep, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to cope. But you don’t tell work – that’s out of the question. You’d look weak. Incompetent. Not up to the job.
This, for many people working in property, will sound uncomfortably familiar. And from the 664 responses that EG received to its first nationwide mental health survey, gruelling schedules, unmanageable workloads and long working hours are putting pressure on the industry’s health and wellbeing.
The statistics are shocking. More than a quarter (26%) of real estate professionals have considered suicide. Nearly three-quarters (71%) have experienced a mental health issue. Two-fifths would feel uncomfortable addressing mental health issues and unmanageable stress with their employer.
EG has listened and heard your stories. And it’s time to talk about mental health in property.
Suffering in silence
A startlingly high number of real estate professionals have experienced unmanageable stress and/or mental health issues compared to national averages.
According to NHS statistics, one in four adults will experience a mental illness in their lifetime, with one in six experiencing this while working. But in real estate, nearly three quarters of respondents (71%) to EG’s survey said they have experienced a mental health issue, and 42% of these have dealt with their illness in their current role or are still dealing with their illness.
Despite the large scope of property workers who have experienced (or are currently experiencing) poor mental health, many are suffering in silence. While 21% of respondents experiencing a mental illness or unmanageable stress said they had taken time off work, only a quarter of those told their employer about the real reason for their absence.
Emma Mamo, head of workplace wellbeing at mental health charity Mind, says this indicates that real estate workers “do not feel able to talk about their mental health in the same way they can with their physical health”. Looking at the male-dominated nature of the industry could help explain why, she says.
According to RICS research, men account for 86% of the industry’s workforce, and are less likely than women to talk about their mental health.
“We know this can be a problem, particularly in male-dominated industries, as men generally find it more difficult to open up about these problems, perhaps due to gender stereotypes or fearing being perceived as weak or incapable,” adds Mamo.
This observation is reflected in EG’s survey results. For example, while 27% of females sought support from their employer for their poor mental health, only 21% of men did so in comparison.
Suicide figures ‘extremely concerning’
Mamo describes one particular finding from the survey as “extremely concerning” – one in four property professionals has considered suicide.
Those who have thought about taking their own life are also more likely to struggle alone. Just 3% of respondents who had experienced suicidal thoughts said they had turned to their employer for help or support.
Once again, taking into consideration that property is a male-dominated industry can help make some sense of these figures. According to ONS statistics, men are three times more likely to take their life than women in the UK, and middle-aged men hold the highest suicide rate across the country.
This trend is also reflected in EG’s mental health survey results, with men aged 25-40 being among the most likely groups of people to have experienced suicidal
thoughts.
The survey also shows that a quarter of property professionals have lost a colleague to suicide.
One respondent said they have worked with multiple people who have attempted to take their own life. “Previous colleagues have attempted suicide as a result of clients applying unnecessary stress and unreasonable behaviour,” they said.
Industry stress points
In an industry that is well known for its high levels of pressure and demands to meet deadlines and targets day in, day out, there are certain stress points in the property sector that seem likely to be exacerbating the situation.
For respondents who have experienced a mental health issue in work, the most commonly cited contributing factor was workplace culture, followed closely by long working hours and then the profit-driven nature of the industry.
One respondent who has suffered from mental health issues summarises how the combination of these factors can often create an “overwhelming” working environment: “The profit-driven nature of real estate can mean that you are taking on too much work, work long hours, have a poor work-life balance and are under pressure to do even more work to increase profits,” they said, adding that the problem “seems to be across the industry” and that “a poor life-work balance is the norm”.
Another respondent describes the effects this has had on their mental wellbeing. “The excessive volume of work and job insecurity has caused me stress,” they said. “This has caused feelings of anxiety, I feel my mind is always racing and I have experienced insomnia. This has been quite distressing at times.”
Chris Ireland, JLL’s UK chief executive, says mental illness is affecting a worrying number of people and can no longer be a subject we don’t talk about.
He adds: “The sooner we start addressing it, the sooner we can start to minimise its impact on our colleagues. We as employers must provide an environment where colleagues feel able to discuss their mental health and provide the tools and resources to support them should they suffer periods of mental ill health.”
What now?
Ireland says one of the first steps property can take is being open about mental health and wellbeing in the industry.
Grainger chief executive Helen Gordon agrees and says the industry needs to recognise that addressing mental health issues is a critically important issue for the sector.
“We in property take our responsibility to look after our employees seriously,” she says. “People are our business, and we [must] recognise the built environment can have a great impact on our health and happiness.”
EG will continue to cover the issue – because if we keep silent, people will be more likely to suffer in silence too.
Will you join us?
If you need help with any issues raised in this article, you can get support from:
- Mind, the mental health charity 0300 123 3393 – provides advice and support to anyone experiencing a mental health problem
- The Samaritans 116 123 – confidential 24-hour support for people who are experiencing feelings of distress, despair or suicidal thoughts
- LionHeart 0800 009 2960 or 0121 289 330 – charity for RICS professionals and real estate professionals
To send feedback, e-mail lucy.alderson@egi.co.uk or tweet @LucyAJourno or @estatesgazette
