According to a poll during a session at the Mortgage Administrator Online Event, around 21% say that they work overtime for one day per week on average, with 15% saying overtime is usually limited to two days.

Approximately 16% say they work overtime for three days on average per week.

One in 10 said that they worked overtime for four days on average. However, 20% said that they never worked overtime.

The figures came from a fireside chat between Rob Barnard, relationship director at Pepper Money, and Luke Syms, training and quality supervisor of case management at Connect for Intermediaries.

Barnard said: “I don’t think there’s anything such and anything like a normal working day anymore. The importance of mortgage administration, I think, is still paramount with the introduction of Consumer Duty, and that has probably even caused more requirements for administrators as there’s often more packaging requirements.

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“Now, in many instances, I think administrators are the unsung heroes of the application process, often responsible for getting that case finally over the line, and they play an integral part in ensuring that homebuyers and indeed remortgage customers secure the funds in a timely manner.

“These situations often come down to small details, and good administrators are the masters of those details, but it can often lead to long and stressful hours, so undoubtedly, work/life balance is something that must be a real challenge.”

Syms said that he has had to make a “conscious effort” to ensure that he is not working too much overtime, whether that was starting late at work or taking work home with him.

He noted that in the past six months or so there had been a lot of changes within the team, so the focus had been on training and getting people up to speed, which had a “knock-on effect” with his normal workload.

Syms continued: “You’re taking those stresses and the work home with you, which in an ideal world, you don’t want to be doing. You want to have that switch off [at] five o’clock, go home and enjoy your evening and come back again in the morning.

“There’s a large element of prioritising your work during the working hours; try your best not to take that work home and those stresses home with you. Do what you can during the working day, and tomorrow’s a new day.”

 

Watch the 31:20 video, chaired by Anna Sagar, deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions, Rob Barnard, relationship director at Pepper Money, and Luke Syms, training, and quality supervisor case management at Connect for Intermediaries. 

You can find all of the sessions from The Mortgage Administrator Online Event on this YouTube playlist.