Over 70% of financial advisers experience high levels of burnout from stress and 67% experience some level of depression due to the major reform changes the industry is currently experiencing, according to research.
An AIA Australia report carried out by The e-lab and Deakin University found that 82% of advisers found regulatory and compliance demands to be highly or very highly stressful.
Co-researcher of the ‘Australian Financial Advisers Wellbeing Report 2021’ Dr Adam Fraser, said: “Concerningly, we found that advisers had the lowest scores in areas of wellbeing, mental and physical health and higher scores in terms of stress, burnout and work overload, than any industry we had previously studied”.
Another 77% felt high levels of frustration despite most advisers finding meaning and purpose in their work.
Also commenting, co-researcher, Dr John Molineux, said: “Due to major change and reform in the industry, many advisers are struggling and it is impacting their health and wellbeing, which I think should be a major concern to us all.
“Yet there is hope, as pathways for help are becoming available and many of the advisers we interviewed are learning, coping, adapting, recovering and moving away from stress reactions which can prevent us from taking positive action.”
Some of the key findings of the report included:
- 73% of respondents are experiencing high levels of burnout from stress;
- 67% experience some level of depression – ranging from ‘a little of the time’ to ‘all the time’;
- 61% have poor sleep due to stress;
- 33% of respondents are seeking medical care to manage their health symptoms caused by stress in their roles; and
- 25% indicated that their medical practitioner has advised them that they are in a high-risk category for heart disease or stroke.
However, the report noted that engagement with industry support services and associations, a positive work/ life balance, practising regular recovery activities such as exercise or mindfulness and having collegiate support were key differentiators between those who were thriving and those who were not.
The report surveyed over 700 financial advisers in Australia in late 2020.
Comments
Frydenberg has been an utter wrecking ball to Advisers over last 8 years.
LNP have been in power 75% of time last 22 years. Starting with FSRA we have seen 20 years of ever increasing BS Regs, Red Tape and Adviser persecution.
The last 8 years have been exponentially getting worse.
Many Advisers have had a gut full.
Many clients pay stupid costs of this excessive Frydenberg / ASIC compliance costs.
Many more clients can’t afford these crazy compliance Advice cost but need Advice.
Frydenberg must go !!!!
ASIC must be cleaned out, Ms Press must go!!!
If like me you are a born & bred blue blood voting Liberal but had enough.
Small business Advisers have been massacred by this LNP / Frydenberg government.
I will not vote LNP upcoming election.
I will be actively informing my clients of increased fees directly caused by Frydenberg / LNP that costs them lots of wasted money.
Advisers need to rally together to very clearly tell these LNP / Frydenberg / ASIC clowns it’s gone way too far and must stop !!!
advisers are rallying behind what you are saying. we are voiceless and we are saying emphatically NO! not anymore
our families are just as important as anyone else's.
our mental health and well being are just as important as anyone else's
we deserve to be treated fairly and with dignity
join me and all others in exiting the space so we can bring on the collapse. friends and colleagues the exit of advisers in huge numbers is the only thing anyone in the industry or overseeing it will understand. as it is only then their mismanagement and incompetence will become apparent to them.
we have gone on long enough. I urge all you good and fair-minded people to join me and many thousands before us to be brave and take the leap to exit and to SAY NO!
as Optimus prime would say, "in the name of freedom we take the battle to them", and the battle is a non-violent peaceful protest and we are empowered to say no more and leave.
Unfortunately mate, I have an eerie feeling they would prefer that we all left the industry so they can just pass the services and revenue on to their institutional mates and replace the profession with something a bit more controllable and in-house if you catch my drift
all good. they can do whatever they want. I am just using the next 6 months to talk to all my clients who I have seen through covid and telling them I need to leave for my mental health is being impacted.
most of them are very loyal clients and they will understand. so I'll be good.
"who cares?"
That's the response from those outside the industry and from politicians.
Our clients only see the facade of us being "up and about" and helping them.
Good luck everyone.
Look after yourselves as best you can.
Dear bent out of shape
Be careful what you wish for ! Yes Frydenberg O’Dwyer and many others have never given a s*hit about us advisers but the Labour Party is not going to change things for the better ! Not whilst Industry funds ASIC and the Unions have the control they have now They are not even in power but control so much behind the scenes it beggars belief
Personally I think Labour WOULD be the last nail in our coffin !
I left for many of the reasons noted above. Ultimately, I got sick of being treated like a criminal without committing a crime. Advisers have been subject to 'collective punishment' with all of these changes. No other profession puts up with even 5% of this crap.
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