Mental wellbeing across the mortgage industry has improved over the past year, although long working hours, poor sleep and concerns over the visibility of employer support remain, according to the Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter (MIMHC).
The MIMHC Mental Health & Wellbeing Survey 2026 found that 53% of respondents described their overall mental wellbeing as good or excellent, up from about 41% in 2025.
The proportion describing their wellbeing as poor or of concern fell from about 22% to 15%.
The survey attracted 536 responses from across the mortgage sector, compared with about 300 last year, making it the organisation’s largest study to date.
However, 49% of respondents said they still worked more than 45 hours a week. This was down from about 59% in 2025, while nearly 9% reported working more than 60 hours a week.
Sleep patterns showed little improvement. About 21% said they achieved eight hours’ sleep on none of the working days in a typical week, while approximately 63% managed eight hours on no more than three working days.
Some 29% said their wellbeing had improved during the previous 12 months, while almost half said it had remained unchanged and 24% believed it had worsened.
EMPLOYER SUPPORT LESS VISIBLE
The survey also found a fall in the proportion of respondents who recognised mental health or wellbeing initiatives at their employer.
Some 53% said their company participated in a mental health or wellbeing initiative or strategy, compared with 70% in 2025. A further 30% said their employer did not, while 17% did not know.
Meanwhile, 35% believed their workplace’s mental health and wellbeing provision had improved over the past year, down from 47% in 2025.
MIMHC cautioned that the larger respondent base meant the figures should not necessarily be interpreted as evidence that employers were withdrawing support. It said they nevertheless raised questions about whether existing provision was sufficiently visible, accessible and meaningful.
ECONOMIC PRESSURES DRIVE STRESS
The economic environment was the largest defined source of workplace stress, cited by 30% of respondents.
Anonymous responses also identified workload, targets, staffing shortages, internal systems, management changes and lender and solicitor service as sources of pressure.
About 67% identified the first half of 2026 as the most stressful period of the previous 12 months, including 38% who selected January to March. This differed from the 2025 survey, when the final quarter of 2024 was the main period of pressure.
Jason Berry, co-founder of the Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter, said: “There is a huge amount to be encouraged by in this year’s results. Seeing good or excellent mental wellbeing increase from 41% to 53%, alongside fewer people reporting poor or concerning wellbeing, represents real progress and should be recognised.
“But we mustn’t allow an improving headline number to disguise what is happening underneath it.
“Almost half of our respondents are still working more than 45 hours a week, sleep has barely improved, almost three quarters have either seen no improvement in their wellbeing or feel it has worsened, and fewer people recognise meaningful wellbeing provision from their employer.
“For me, that creates a really important question for our industry: are we actually workingin a healthier way, or have people simply become better at coping with the pressure?
“Mental health awareness across our industry has come a very long way. The next phase has to be about turning that awareness into practical, visible and measurable action.
“This isn’t about working less, lowering expectations or reducing ambition. It is about creating an industry where people can perform at a high level, build successful careers and achieve their ambitions without routinely sacrificing the things that keep them well.
“Our goal for 2027 is simple: fewer people merely coping and more people genuinely thriving.”
FLEXIBLE WORKING REMAINS DOMINANT
Hybrid working remained the most common model, accounting for 45% of respondents, while permanent home working increased from 32% to 37%.
Some 18% reported having returned to the office, meaning more than four in five respondents spent at least part of their working week away from a traditional office environment.
However, 30% said their working arrangements had improved their mental health, compared with 39% in 2025. MIMHC said the findings suggested flexible working had become part of the industry’s infrastructure rather than a wellbeing solution in itself.
MIMHC SETS OUT 2027 PRIORITIES
Anonymous responses to the survey called for measures including human check-ins, confidential professional support, healthier workloads and boundaries, better-trained managers, greater connection and more support for self-employed and potentially isolated advisers.
MIMHC said its 2027 programme would focus on Healthier Balance, Confident Leadership, Wellbeing in Business, Stronger Connections, Personal Resilience and Sustained Impact.
Planned activity includes Mental Health First Aid, resources for managers, industry events, physical wellbeing and connection initiatives, peer communities and engagement with mortgage sector leaders.
The Charter is also seeking more mortgage businesses as signatories and has called on existing supporters to make wellbeing support more visible, equip managers, protect healthy working conditions and measure employee wellbeing routinely.
The survey’s 500 Voices campaign was supported by PepperMoney, which pledged £2 to MIMHC for each completed response. Following 536 responses, PepperMoney will donate £1,072 towards MIMHC‘s work.
