The Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter (MIMHC) is urging the industry to undergo systemic change and offer far greater support for those in need following the publication of its Mental Health and Wellbeing White Paper 2024 today.

MIMHC’s fifth annual survey provides definitive research into the industry’s emotional and psychological wellbeing, while simultaneously highlighting areas where provision must improve.

The 2024 results have revealed a worsening state of mental health among industry professionals, with 21% of respondents now rating this as either ‘poor’ or ‘of concern’ which has increased from 16% in 2023.

The white paper also confirms a trend of excessive working hours with 62% of respondents now working more than 45 hours a week (2023: 58%), while 19% are disillusioned with their jobs and considering their options (2023: 15%).

An increasing number of mortgage sector employees (33%) are now permanently working from home (2023: 23%), although this has not resulted in the anticipated improvements in mental health.

Jason Berry (pictured), MIMHC co-founder and group sales director at Crystal Specialist Finance, said: “The findings from MIMHC’s 2024 survey are exceptionally concerning as they show that work-related mental health is worsening – and we must take decisive action to stop this.

“While flexible working arrangements offer some benefits, they are clearly insufficient on their own to address those underlying issues that are profoundly affecting people’s lives.

“It’s become clear that systemic change and appropriate mental health support in workplaces are now essential.”

Respondents have witnessed a dramatic worsening in their work/life balance with 39% saying that this has either ‘greatly worsened’ or ‘somewhat worsened’ in 2024, compared with 24% in 2023.

The survey also found that 34% of all mortgage companies are still not providing mental health support in their workplaces (2023: 30%).

Martin Reynolds, MIMHC co-founder and chief operating officer of SimplyBiz Mortgages, is calling on companies to foster “regular mental health conversations within their workplaces.”

He added: “This year’s response was much bigger than in 2023 so there will be many employees talking about their employer for the first time.

“But even taking this into account, it shows that employers need to ensure that that the positive promotion of the support they offer – and improvements to this support – are not a one-off exercise.”

MIMHC‘s 2024 survey was conducted over a five week period in March and April and the number of participants increased by 30% to 326.