The Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter (MIMHC) has launched a series of q&a webinars featuring mental health professionals, starting with a conversation with the founder of wellbeing training provider Altruist Enterprises.
Katie Buckingham (pictured) established Altruist Enterprises in 2013 to help businesses promote mental wellbeing through mental health and resilience training and coaching.
The first video in the series aims to improve the wellbeing of professionals in the mortgage sector by highlighting best practice. It was introduced by Jason Berry, co-founder of MIMHC and group sales director at Crystal Specialist Finance.
During the conversation, Buckingham encouraged firms to view employee wellbeing in the same way as “all other major business objectives”. She also shared tips for managers to identify and support colleagues struggling with their mental health.
Berry said: “This conversation with Katie has truly kickstarted our new Q&A series by providing expert insight into the most appropriate way for mortgage companies to spot warning signs linked to deteriorating mental health before initiating effective conversations that can truly make a difference.
“It’s incredibly important that we have these conversations and raise awareness of issues surrounding mental wellbeing as the findings of the latest MIMHC survey demonstrate that our sector still has too many unhappy individuals close to burnout.”
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MIMHC’s survey this year found that 62% of mortgage professionals regularly worked more than 45 hours a week, with 13% doing more than 65 hours. More than half, 56%, said they were either ‘moderately happy’ or ‘totally disillusioned’ with the sector.
Buckingham added: “I often find when speaking to managers that they might be reticent about approaching the topic of mental health because they feel they don’t possess the requisite skills to initiate conversations.
“They might even be concerned that they might make the situation worse – or think it’s a personal issue for an individual employee. But it’s essential to discuss mental health openly and frankly – simply being there to support and listen can make all the difference.”
The webinar series can be viewed here.
