We’ve all seen it — the monumental labor shortage. So many industries are experiencing burnout throughout their employment base, and property management is no different. We often hear that term, but do we truly know what it means?
According to Thrive Global, burnout is “a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.” They also define corporate burnout as exhaustion “due to stress from working with people under difficult or demanding conditions.”
So how do you avoid burnout in multifamily specifically?
Set Healthy Work Boundaries
So many of us have difficulty saying no or having boundaries regarding our work. Setting boundaries doesn’t mean you are lazy or too weak to do the job. It means being self-aware enough to know what’s healthy for you.
When you have healthy boundaries, you are less likely to reach the point of burnout. What about real estate burnout? Here are a few examples of what that might look like in multifamily:
- Not taking any work calls after hours whenever possible (If you need help with this one, see our article on ways leasing teams can serve prospects after hours, with no work on their part).
- Consistency with breaks throughout the day.
- Delegating tasks when feeling overwhelmed can be simple tasks like engaging on social media or opening up a model unit for the day.
- Setting definitive start and end times.
- Defining specific focus blocks of time.
Create Goals and Evaluate Often
It seems counterintuitive, but creating goals can help avoid burnout. That is if you are evaluating them consistently. It’s important to reexamine your goals quarterly at a minimum.
Ideally, you should create short-term and long-term personal and professional goals. Reaching your goals can create a sense of accomplishment, which then creates purpose and helps avoid the feelings of distress that come with burnout.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is vital — but what does it mean? This term gets used often in regards to meditation and movement. For this, we are referencing mindfulness as a state of being aware.
For example, if you are overwhelmed with the number of leads coming in or the number of appointments, you can practice mindfulness by acknowledging that feeling and writing it down.
Come back to it when you are less overwhelmed and figure out a solution for moving forward. It may even help to brainstorm with other team members about potential solutions (Note: If you are struggling with this particular issue, BetterBot’s AI leasing assistant can help).
Another example may be practicing mindfulness when working with team members and customers. You may find yourself getting frustrated or overwhelmed. Take notice of those feelings and ask yourself why you feel this way. Is there something that can be done in the future to help it? It may also be helpful to practice deep breathing to calm your mind at the moment.
According to everyonesocial, 52% of workers are feeling burnout. We don’t want to lose good talent, and we also don’t want to feel overwhelmed ourselves. Applying these tips to your routine and sharing them with your team can help turn things around.
Learn more about BetterBot’s multifamily lead nurturing platform or share this article with someone who needs to see it today!
