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Work/life balance is a constant challenge for real estate agents, and one industry boss believes agents have it worse than most professionals.
The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand recently put the spotlight on work/life balance and found 74 per cent of its members found it tough to separate work and personal life.
This is a problem that equally impacts real estate agents in Australia, Professionals CEO David Crombie said.
“We often ask offices throughout our network for feedback on what type of trainers or speakers they would like to see, and work/life balance has been an increasing request over the past 12 months,” Mr Crombie said.
“In fact, it’s become so important that we had a speaker on the topic at our recent international conference.”
As agents have to work with vendors, buyers, landlords and tenants regularly, as well as hold inspections day or night and open homes at the weekend, it does not leave much personal time, Mr Crombie said.
“Social activities outside real estate are important, and even more so if this helps to reduce or manage the stress that sometimes comes with working in the industry.”
Modern-day expectations to provide instant responses contribute to stress levels, he said.
“Not that long ago, all we had to deal with was a not-so-smart mobile phone and an email inbox, but now more of our time is also being absorbed by social media.
“All of this is happening on our mobile phones which continues to ring and beep as new messages, posts and notifications come through.”
Mr Crombie’s advice is for real estate agents to set boundaries that clearly define their expectations if they want to improve their work/life balance.
“It’s about making landlords and vendors, for example, aware of the times they can best call them,” he said.
“I had one agent recently tell me a buyer called at 10pm one night, so it’s important to make a decision on when you will and won’t take calls.
“One of the most effective measures you can take is to put your mobile phone down from a certain time in the evening and only take calls from friends and family after a certain time. Of course, it’s important to be realistic with the time frames you provide and what you commit to doing.”
For agents who work in a team environment, it could help to reach out to colleagues to help share the workload to reduce stress.
“There are many agents that don’t want to do this as they think they can do it better themselves,” he said. “It’s worth trying, though, because with the right people you will be surprised at the outcome.”
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