Domain recently commissioned new research on mental health issues within the real estate industry, revealing the vast majority of agents struggle with stress. They have partnered with Rise to create a free mental health resource designed especially for real estate professionals, called the Real Care App.
A shocking 90 per cent of real estate agents experience stress of a day-to-day basis, according to recent Domain research.
The study found 65 per cent of those agents said their stress led to further mental health concerns, such as anxiety and depression.
According to Australian Broker, the real estate industry was classified earlier this year as ‘high risk’ after the Victorian Coroner’s office found that the annual suicide rate within the industry was 13 per 100,000 people.
Rise research involving ,more than 1000 Australian real estate agents found that two out of five agents feel overwhelmed by their work and almost half (47 per cent) say anxiety is a consistent part of their professional life.
Some 26 per cent use alcohol to cope with the stress, and 7.5 per cent say they’ve resorted to illegal, recreational drugs, according to the organisation.
Domain has therefore supported Rise in developing the Real Care app, which has been designed to provide free access to mental health resources for real estate agents and their families on mobile phones.
Domain Chief Executive Officer Jason Pellegrino explained the real estate platform wanted to support their primary client base, agents.
“At Domain, we are really focused on on the mental health and wellbeing of our staff. We also recognise we have a role to play in the communities we operate in and with our key customer groups, which is agents,” Mr Pellegrino said.
“[Agents are] the people who support our business, we need to turn around and support them. One of the key issues that the industry faces is stress.
“At Domain, we want to help. That’s why we’ve partnered with Rise to create the Real Care app – an app that provides the tools and resources necessary for agents to manage their own mental health and wellbeing and improve the sustainability of their day-to-day work.”
The Real Care app has been built in conjunction with technology and public health expert David Stanley and the team at Utility Creative, who have produced a similar resource for the police forces across Australia and New Zealand.
RealCare App from Rise Initiative on Vimeo.
The app addresses major stressors faced by agents including financial health, well-being checks, guidance for self-care, as well as rapid response features for crisis intervention.
The Real Care app is free to download from Google Play or the Apple App Store.
Crisis support is also available from LifeLine at 13 11 14, Beyond Blue at 1300 22 4636 or through various online resources.
