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In a real estate climate littered with headwinds, network chief executive officer David Highland hopes hearing from Aussie icon Layne Beachley will assist his staff’s wellbeing.
“With the current stresses facing the property industry, I believe that as a business, it is imperative to engage in positive workplace practices and culture,” Mr Highland said. He labelled the prioritisation of mental health as “crucial not just for our clients but also for the team so it transpires into their work and personal life”.
“There is a lot of talk at the moment on the challenges imposed on buyers in the real estate market, but there has been limited attention given to the mental toll experienced by agents.”
As a result of this burning desire to uplift wellness within his network, Mr Highland enlisted the services of the 51-year-old to deliver powerful motivating speech targeting building resilient mindsets and maintaining a healthy work life balance amid high-pressure environments.
Despite the individual nature of surfing, whereby it’s the surfer alone riding the waves and fighting for points, Ms Beachley stressed to the team the importance of maximising the team around you in order to optimise your performance.
“To learn how to bring the best out in others means you need to bring the best out of yourself,” she said, before adding “this is especially vital for professions like real estate when staff are under high-pressure situations daily”.
In a climate where rising interest rates and increasing cost-of-living pressures place great strain on a large portion of the Australian population and subsequently sap confidence from many sections of the real estate market, agents have borne the brunt of these collective social frustrations.
Such an environment has bred burnout across the Australian professional landscape, with a recent report from the University of Melbourne and YouGov indicating half all “prime-aged” workers are burnt out.
Discussing the wide-reaching impacts, she explained burnout, particularly within high-intensity, high-pressure workplaces, mixed with the “winner-takes-all mentality can take a very heavy toll both physically and mentally on people”.
“It cannot become the norm going forward and more needs to be done to address these honest conversations,” Ms Beachley insisted.
And while agents cemented within a burnout-infused rut may find it hard to believe they can overcome the depletion and return to their peak, the six-time surfing world champion maintained everyone has the “capacity to boost your resilience and bounce back from setbacks”.
Drawing on an analogy from her esteemed career to ratify her point, Ms Beachley explained overcoming adversity is possible as long as “you don’t let [it] define you and remember you can’t control the waves, but you can learn to surf”.
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