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Brokers can speak to a workplace psychology professional and attend webinars on common challenges facing the profession.
Aggregator Finsure Group has rolled out a series of mental health initiatives aimed at supporting its broker network by cutting stress and improving brokers’ personal wellbeing.
Finsure is offering sessions with a workplace psychology professional and has introduced a free webinar series called the Psychology of a Broker, where organisational psychology and wellbeing expert, Phill Krins, discusses the challenges facing mortgage brokers.
During Men’s Health Week (9–15 June), the aggregator will be raising awareness through a fundraising campaign with the not-for-profit mental health research organisation Black Dog Institute.
Finsure has also introduced a panel session at its professional development days held around Australia titled ‘Mind Matters – Transforming the Narrative on Mental Health’.
Finsure CEO Simon Bednar said the sessions had helped representatives from the company’s broker network, lender partners, and Finsure staff share their experiences and openly discuss mental health.
Commenting on the pressure brokers were under, Bednar said that data from the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has found that 41 per cent of brokerages are run by a sole operator, placing stress on individuals to run a business and support customers.
“Many brokers are usually so busy they don’t get the chance to even have lunch, let alone unwind after a long working day,” he said.
“Add to that the pressures of financially supporting themselves and their family in a competitive industry and sometimes it can just be overwhelming.
“The importance of looking after their mental health is becoming acknowledged among the broking community.
“The Psychology of a Broker sessions offer tools and strategies to help brokers reduce stress, improve their productivity, foster stronger relationships with clients and colleagues and better integrate their work life with their personal life.”
Speaking on the new program, Krins said he believed mortgage broking was an area that was in need of more mental health support.
“Mortgage broking can be a very lonely career path, lacking the usual guardrails,” he said.
“We also find that in such a male-dominated industry, there aren’t many open discussions about mental health, with men tending to put up emotional walls and opting to suffer in silence. I’m working with several mortgage brokers directly and already have noticed a positive difference in their work performance, but more importantly, their personal wellbeing.
“With these regular sessions to the Finsure network, I can reach a wider audience and spark conversations that really make a difference.”
Mental health awareness has become a topical issue in financial services, with a growing number of industry bodies and companies working to ease pressure on employees and improve staff wellbeing.
Earlier this year, the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA) released data suggesting that more than a quarter of brokers have said that clawbacks are negatively affecting their mental health. The association last year launched a new range of resources for mortgage and finance brokers needing mental health support via its Wellness Hub.
You can find out more about how you can manage stress and anxiety in the monthly edition of The Adviser magazine. In the June edition of The Adviser magazine, psychotherapist Bronwyn Penhaligon from Penhaligon Applied Psychology discusses how brokers can navigate stress and anxiety in the ‘Your Health In Mind’ column.
You can find out how brokers unwind and de-stress in The Adviser’s weekly Wellness Wednesday video series. This week, we find out how Matt Turner from GSC Finance Solutions manages his own wellbeing.
[Related: Your Health in Mind]
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