There is always a lot in the press, discussed in podcasts, webinars, and training about being kind and compassionate when dealing with others.
This is something that I am personally a huge advocate for, and I strongly believe that we all need to be kinder to each other and kinder to ourselves, especially after the past 2 years dealing with the pandemic.
One thing I have noticed is that mentoring young professionals within the property management industry doesn’t appear to exist. It may well exist within some individual organisations, but this job is difficult, and I wish I had someone to show me the way when I first started out. Someone who I could turn too after dealing with a difficult client and not just expected to get on with it because that’s just part of the job.
The Pressures of Property Management
As a Property Manager you’re juggling numerous tasks at once. You’re organising for a leak to be fixed, at the same time as a leaseholder wanting a service charge statement that you need to arrange to be issued. There could also be a service charge query that you need to look into, and someone else is shouting at you because they reported that some rubbish was over-flowing, and they think you don’t care about them.
Service charge accounts are due, you have 80 emails in your inbox whilst you were on a 2-hour site inspection and then a solicitor is chasing because you need to do the leasehold enquiries for a flat sale.
By the time you’re back at your desk, you’re organising the actions from your site visit, and before you realise it, the whole day has gone by, and you haven’t achieved anything. Then you go home feeling really stressed that you haven’t completed what you set out to achieve and you’re letting everyone down.
Each company will of course have their own internal processes and ways of working, but one thing that seems to be the same for every property manager is the pressure can be too much. I have spoken to property managers who suffer terribly with anxiety, avoid looking at emails for days because they don’t want to be shouted at, have been in tears most days- and even some who have physical symptoms like black outs and heart palpitations.
We get shouted at, sworn at, spat at, and threatened with violence on more occasions than I wish to comment on, and I simply see no reason why this needs to happen. We are all human beings and I really think it’s time that there was a little bit more compassion for those working incredibly hard in a tough industry.
A Unique Challenge
This job isn’t a typical 9-5. We’re responsible for a lot of tasks that need to be done at once. We must ensure everything is compliant from cladding to electrical testing, to fire and health and safety. Each property manager will likely be managing 15-25 developments (or maybe 750-1000 units) with the ever-changing laws and regulations to consider.
From a mental health perspective, just imagine if 100 out of 1000 leaseholders contacted you per week and 50 or those were nasty, spiteful, or even just a bit sarcastic. What does that do to a person’s self-worth, self-confidence, and mental wellbeing?
Call to Action for Employers
You don’t know what someone is going through behind closed doors, so we’re calling for kindness and compassion to be more widely spoken about within Property Management and for all companies, large or small, to take care of their employees, listen to their concerns, support them with their mental health and take time to hold space and understand their needs.
