Combine this with the pandemic, stamp duty frenzy, rapid tightening of criteria and a conveyancing backlog, and they face a perfect storm.

Adviser mental health has come under intense pressure that shows little sign of easing now that a second lockdown is under way. But firms are showing their resilience by supporting their staff in new and innovative ways.

A poll by Santander conducted among small and medium enterprises from different sectors of the economy provides a snapshot of what those in the mortgage industry may be going through. It found that a third of SME business owners thought the pandemic had adversely affected their mental health. Two out of five respondents said they had been left questioning whether they wanted to continue running their own business.

Seesaw effect

In addition to the wider stresses highlighted by the poll, brokers have had to cope with pressures specific to the housing market, which went from a virtual shutdown to record-breaking levels of purchases after restrictions were eased in May.

Sesame chief executive Michele Golunska describes the effect as like being on a seesaw.

She says: “One minute you are on the ground and everything is on hold; and the next minute the seesaw is tipped, you are up in the air and it is full on.

“While we were all incredibly grateful that there was a relaxation of restrictions that enabled the property market to move on – which was very helpful for advisers and consumers – there is uncertainty about what the longer term looks like, given the economic backdrop.”

Golunska feels it is vital for advisers to have a forum in which they can vent their feelings.

“One of the things I’ve been quite vocal about, and which I say a lot, is that it is OK not to be OK,” she says.

“The worst thing is to feel that you are the only one who is struggling. But if there is ever a time in which it is OK to feel you are not coping, it is in the middle of a global pandemic.”

In March, Sesame introduced a Covid-19 hub for advisers to share practical information, such as criteria updates as well as support for staying well.

Golunska says: “It was launched to respond to some of the challenges that were arising from the initial lockdown, with a view to helping advisers to trade safely, and to look after their own staff and also their customers through the pandemic.

“The first area of focus was adviser wellbeing – both physical and mental. We shared tips, guides and resources about staying healthy and well to make them feel more at ease through the uncertainty. Then we took it a step further and actually funded access to employee support services through a specialist provider – Carefirst.

“We wanted to ensure that everyone had access to confidential information and a team of professionally qualified counsellors with no charge. We thought that was quite an important thing to do. Having people who are trained and qualified to understand, recognise and support people with very different challenges is really important.”

Professional support

Another large network that recognised the value of offering access to professional emotional support is Quilter. It has been sharing a range of wellbeing resources through its ‘There for you’ hub, and in July the network launched a counselling service provided by Spill.

This includes a free ‘Ask a therapist’ service where advisers can browse advice from qualified counsellors and suggest topics for them to cover. Alternatively, advisers can take a course of four to 10 one-to-one therapy sessions at a 30 per cent discount.

Mortgage Advice Bureau has also drawn on the services of a mental health professional to support staff in its head office.

Human resources manager Jenny Barker says: “Mental health and the wellbeing of staff have always been at the forefront of our business, but the global pandemic has perhaps heightened awareness of their importance much more widely.

“When the nationwide lockdown hit in March, we launched several initiatives to support our staff as well as our advisers and business owners, including weekly sessions with Jamil Qureshi, a performance-enhancing psychologist. The coaching focused on different topics and was designed to get people talking about how to stay connected, self-awareness and productivity versus activity.”

Baptism of fire

For those just starting out in the mortgage industry, this year has been a baptism of fire. The Mortgage Mum founder Sarah Tucker says her own recruits have faced the additional burden of juggling childcare around work.

“Rightly or wrongly, it typically falls on mums to deal with home schooling,” says Tucker. “So all of a sudden somebody who had a good work-life balance had to deal with a hell of a lot more. It tends to be the women who pick up the pieces when the kids are ill or if something unexpected happens.

“As soon as we heard about the schools shutting, I got all of our brokers on a Zoom call to talk openly about it. We then made it a twice-weekly catch-up, where they could cry, get mad or whatever they needed to do.”

Tucker has 19 women on board as part of The Mortgage Mum brand, seven of whom are just finishing their training and due to start work as brokers within a matter of weeks.

She says: “To all of them I say, ‘This job right now is at least three times harder than it normally is, if not more. If you can handle it now, you will come to a point in the future when things calm down, and you will find it so much easier because you have been through this.’ The foundation they will have from this is incredible.”

Tucker tries to lead by example when it comes to self-care. She says: “Fitness has been huge for me. I’ve just done the Body Coach 90-day challenge, which was a distraction that I really needed from Covid, mortgages and work. It has given me so much more energy and I feel like I’m much more in control.

“If you can give yourself something like that, which you do for your wellbeing every day, it does wonders.”

Tucker encourages her team to meditate, write journals and spend time on themselves.

“They might roll their eyes at me, but I’ve learned the hard way how important it is to take time out for these things. It was only when I started really struggling that I realised I had not been prioritising self-care.”

West Yorkshire Money director Adele Forbes says being able to draw upon the support and expertise of the wider Money Group has been helpful in overcoming the challenges this year has brought.

“I feel for the smaller broker who is not part of a bigger group or network,” she says.

When the market reopened after the first lockdown, the sudden surge in demand caught many advisers off guard.

“There were a few weeks where it was like a whirlwind,” says Forbes. “We were in a state of shock, but when business is coming in you have to deal with it because you don’t know how long it will be that way.

“It was a rollercoaster ride. There were times when I wasn’t sleeping because of the stress, but I still had to be up by 6am.”

Counselling clients

On top of the market pressures, advisers often find themselves absorbing the anxieties of their clients when supporting them through difficult life events.

“One day I had three leads from people who were wanting to get divorced. You end up becoming a kind of counsellor because they vent to you,” adds Forbes.

Coreco managing director Andrew Montlake says: “We have tried hard to let everyone know that there is always someone they can talk to. We all need to know that we have colleagues who have our backs. We have also been very open and consultative around any decisions we have made, such as how we use the office, and we have sent out anonymous questionnaires to understand how our people are feeling.”

Montlake says applications have been far more challenging during the pandemic due to frequent criteria and product changes.

“We know lenders have been stretched to the limit with the mortgage payment deferral scheme, their own staff being unable to work in the same way they did, and facing an incredible surge in applications after the reopening of the housing market and the stamp duty holiday announcement.

“Brokers have borne the brunt of much of this, having to explain to often emotional clients the delays and sudden changes in rates and policy, and trying to keep transactions together. The job is a stressful one at the best of times, but these days it can often feel unbearable.”

Like Tucker, Montlake believes advisers need to make a conscious effort to take care of themselves.

“Although I am particularly bad at this, it is important that brokers know when to take breaks, get out of the house and exercise, walk, even in the rain, to just get some sense of peace. With no travel time to get to and from work, it is easy to replace this with even longer hours and no switchoff time. I know many brokers across the country work from home very well and we are lucky that ours is a job we can still do effectively remotely.”

Kindness is king

Crucially, in these high-pressure times, Montlake says advisers should remain mindful of the difficulties facing others in the chain – be that packager, solicitor, surveyor or lender staff.

“One of my big worries is for the lender business development managers out there. They are very much like brokers: social animals who are caught in the middle and wondering if their jobs will ever be the same again. I have noticed a worrying change in tone from some in emails, which points to unacceptable levels of stress and anxiety; something we need to keep in mind.”

The overarching message, from those trying to promote good mental health among brokers in these turbulent times, is that kindness is king: that is, kindness to oneself and kindness to others.

Montlake says: “We are an industry that thrives socially and when we work together. Whether lender or broker, conveyancer, valuer or competitor, we have to remember we are all in this together.

“We must look out for each other, help where needed, offer ourselves as someone to talk to.

“It is not rocket science, but one nice word well timed could literally save a life without us realising.”