Almost half of mortgage brokers have revealed there is no mental health strategy in place within their business, according to the Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter’s (MIMHC) latest mental health and wellbeing report.

The report, which was to a database of thousands of brokers and industry workers, found that 46% of respondents said there was no mental health strategy at all, or that they didn’t know of any within their business.

Crystal Specialist Finance group sales and marketing director Jason Berry comments: “The previous market survey indicated that 75% of respondents had zero mental health support offered by their employer. Although pleasing to see this statistic reduce to 46%, there is still work to be done.”

Meanwhile, more than half (52%) of mortgage brokers said that their workplace mental health provision had not improved or that they didn’t know of any existing, according to its latest report.

SimplyBiz Mortgages chief executive officer Martin Reynolds says: “It is encouraging to see that our sector appears to be making some good progress with mental health provision in the workplace. However, with 52% of respondents still suggesting the workplace environment had not improved, proves there is still substantial work needed.”

Nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents said their mental health is either ‘poor’ or ‘of concern’, which represents an increase from the previous year. MIMHC says it reflects the continued challenges that people face every day and the need for increased mental health provision.

Elsewhere, the report found that 55% of mortgage brokers work more than the recommended weekly guidance, with 13% of people saying they still work 60 or more hours a week.

Chartwell Mortgage Services sales director Scott Howitt explains: “Brokers have always worked longer hours. Client demand, lender criteria and in particular, rate rises and product changes all contribute.”

“Brokers make themselves very accessible to their clients, be that through emails, WhatsApp or social media as buyers don’t want to lose out on their property. Brokers are integral to that, so they are wired to the grid and the expectations are high,” Howitt adds.

In terms of the overall level of professional contentment, the report found that brokers are moderately happy. However, those who are disillusioned and considering their options have risen to 14%, compared to 10% in the previous survey.