'We are all in uncharted waters': Managing mental health in real estate

Selling real estate is competitive by its nature, but agents across the industry are weathering a shared experience.

Even before the impact of COVID-19, research revealed property professionals were at a higher risk of mental health challenges than the wider population.

Figures from 2018-19 showed 56 per cent felt stressed either often or always;  46 per cent experienced stress and anxiety symptoms often or always; and 23 per cent had no time at all to enjoy interests and pursuits outside of their work.

The numbers, found in The Revive Project’s biennial report (which investigates the wellbeing of employees in real estate), are above national benchmarks for the same categories.

RISE, an assembly of leaders across real estate, health and business, is committed to keeping mental health management high on the agenda.

RISE spokesman Chris Hanley OAM, the director of First National in Byron Bay, said common signs of stress and struggle among agents were loss of sleep, lack of focus, reduction in productivity, feeling “jammed or stuck”, and relationship difficulties, and those were amplified and multiplied at the moment.

“Everyone is fearful and anxious and they are different things,” Hanley said. “We have a double whammy – the normal strains and stresses of a real estate business, and then we have the new unknown.”

Hanley said the hallmarks of an agency that was well equipped to care for staff’s mental health were caring leadership, training and coaching, and a culture of trust, laughter and sharing.

“When you are in a situation like this in a company, teams are the ones that prosper,” he said.

Jellis Craig Northcote director and auctioneer Sam Rigopoulos said “deal anxiety” existed prior to COVID-19, under the pressure of satisfying a vendor and delivering on pledges.

“You are always putting yourself front and centre and hoping that you are picked [by a potential client], so that element of rejection is a unique element that agents face, in terms of work.”

In the new world and way of doing business, that is exaggerated by circumstances beyond agents’ control.

“We are all in uncharted waters – it doesn’t matter if you have been in real estate for a day or for a decade,” Rigopoulos said, adding that the “what if” questions around the economy and the industry could easily overwhelm.

To combat that, Rigopoulos approaches his days with both the personal and professional in mind. He practices transcendental mediation twice a day, and sets a business goal.

Like Rigopoulos, Kate Strickland is taking a holistic approach.

The Marshall White Brighton director has a “pit crew” to maintain her focus and energy, including a kinesiologist, a personal trainer, a mentor and a strong relationship with her chief executive.

“I have always been about having other things as well in my life, and at the moment it is so important,” Strickland said.

“I come from a sporting background … you couldn’t control your opposition, the weather, or if your shoelace snapped … you create amazing resilience. You have to wipe away everything else and focus on your own processes, and they have to be the same whether you are flying high or having a patch where you are not.”

Similarly to Strickland, health and fitness expert Sam Wood said movement was a powerful tool in the management of mental health.

Wood, who owns The Woodshed gym in Melbourne, and runs the 28 by Sam Wood online program, recommends agents:

ESTABLISH a routine: “From a workout perspective, move it in the morning. If we can get endorphins pumping, increase our energy and our mood, particularly if we do this in the morning, it has added mental benefits and doing something regularly helps with structure and normality.”

EAT three quality meals a day, and stay hydrated: “Try to maintain some sort of structure, otherwise we get into bad snacking habits, through boredom or stress, or a combination of both.”

GET fresh air and vitamin D: “Go for an isolated walk, doing it the right way and the safe way. Being trapped inside with lots of blue light from TVs and iPads, and very little natural light, is not going to do you any favours at this time.”