The Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter (MIMHC) has introduced a new series of Question and Answer (Q&A) webinars featuring mental health experts with an exclusive conversation with the founder of Altruist Enterprises.
Altruist Enterprises was established by Katie Buckingham in 2013 to assist businesses seeking to promote mental wellbeing in the workplace through effective mental health and resilience training and coaching.
The first video in the new Q&A series – which is intended to help improve the mental health of mortgage industry professionals by highlighting best practice – was introduced by MIMHC co-founder and group sales director at Crystal Specialist Finance, Jason Berry.
During the webinar, Buckingham (pictured) encouraged mortgage companies to view employee wellbeing within their workplaces to be on a par with “all other major business objectives”, while also sharing expert tips for managers looking to identify and support colleagues struggling with their mental health.
Berry said: “This conversation with Katie has truly kickstarted our new Q&A series by providing expert insight into the most appropriate way for mortgage companies to spot warning signs linked to deteriorating mental health before initiating effective conversations that can truly make a difference.
“It’s incredibly important that we have these conversations and raise awareness of issues surrounding mental wellbeing as the findings of the latest MIMHC survey demonstrate that our sector still has too many unhappy individuals close to burnout.”
MIMHC‘s 2024 Survey discovered that 62% of industry professionals routinely work more than 45 hours weekly – with 13% exceeding 65 hours – while more than half (56%) were found to be either just “moderately happy” or “totally disillusioned” with the sector.
The Q&A webinars are recorded live with participants encouraged to share personal experiences while also asking questions.
Buckingham said: “I often find when speaking to managers that they might be reticent about approaching the topic of mental health because they feel they don’t possess the requisite skills to initiate conversations.
“They might even be concerned that they might make the situation worse – or think it’s a personal issue for an individual employee.
“But it’s essential to discuss mental health openly and frankly – simply being there to support and listen can make all the difference.”
