Industry mental wellbeing improves but long working hours risk burnout

The Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter (MIMHC) Mental Health & Wellbeing Survey 2026 gathered responses from 536 people in the mortgage sector, up from 300 last year, giving the MIMHC its strongest evidence base since the survey began. 

It found that 53% of people described their mental wellbeing as good or excellent, up from 41% last year. Similarly, the share of people who said their wellbeing was poor or of concern declined from 59% to 49%. 

However, the survey found that professionals were working longer hours. 

Nearly half of respondents said they worked more than 45 hours per week, cited by 49% of professionals. This was better than the 59% who said they worked more than 45 hours per week last year. 

Professionals also said their sleep had been impacted, as 21% said they had eight hours of sleep on non-working days, while 63% get a similar level of sleep on no more than three working days. This was unchanged from the survey’s findings last year. 

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Although 29% of respondents said their wellbeing had improved over the year, nearly half said there was no change, and 24% felt it had got worse. 

The largest share of mortgage professionals continue to work in a hybrid model, with 45% working from both home and the office. Meanwhile, the share of people permanently working from home rose from 32% to 37%. 

Just 18% have fully returned to the office. 

Despite this, just 30% said their working arrangements improved their mental health, down from 39% last year. The MIMHC said this showed that flexible working had become a normal aspect of the sector, rather than a wellbeing solution in itself. 

Concerns about employer wellbeing support schemes 

The MIMHC found a decline in support for workplace wellbeing from employers, with just 53% of respondents saying their company had an initiative or strategy. This was down from 70% in 2025. 

Further, 30% of respondents said their employer offered no support for wellbeing and 17% did not know.

For those whose employers did offer support, just 35% said this had improved over the year, down from 47% previously. 

The MIMHC noted this did not mean employers were withdrawing support but did raise questions around how accessible and visible this was to employees. 

Economic and workplace pressures weigh on wellbeing 

Some 30% of respondents said the economic environment was the main contributor to workplace stress, the most common response. 

When asked for anonymous answers, those polled also cited workload, targets, staffing shortages, internal systems, management change, and lender and solicitor service. 

The MIMHC found this aligned to market uncertainty, as 67% said the first half of the year was the most stressful period of the last 12 months, with 38% pointing to the period from January to March alone. 

This was a change from last year’s survey, when the last three months of 2024 were seen as the main source of stress. 

Targeted support is still needed 

The MIMHC said anonymous responses showed what people wanted from employers and across the industry, citing human check-ins, confidential professional support, healthier workloads, better trained managers and more support for self-employed and potentially isolated advisers. 

As a result, the MIMHC’s 2027 programme will focus on Healthier Balance, Confident Leadership, Wellbeing in Business, Stronger Connections, Personal Resilience and Sustained Impact. 

This will include mental health first aid, resources for managers, industry events, physical wellbeing and connection initiatives, communities and continued engagement with industry leaders.

The MIMHC has also called on more businesses to sign its charter to make their commitment to employee wellbeing more visible. 

Pepper Money supported the 2026 survey’s 500 Voice campaign, and pledged to donate £2 for every completed response. 

With 536 responses, Pepper Money will donate £1,072 to the MIMHC to support its work. 

The job is ‘certainly not done’ 

Jason Berry, co-founder of the MIMHC, said: “There is a huge amount to be encouraged by in this year’s results. Seeing good or excellent mental wellbeing increase from 41% to 53%, alongside fewer people reporting poor or concerning wellbeing, represents real progress and should be recognised. 

“But we mustn’t allow an improving headline number to disguise what is happening underneath it. 

“Almost half of our respondents are still working more than 45 hours a week, sleep has barely improved, almost three-quarters have either seen no improvement in their wellbeing or feel it has worsened, and fewer people recognise meaningful wellbeing provision from their employer.” 

Berry said this created an important question: “Are we actually working in a healthier way, or have people simply become better at coping with the pressure?” 

He added: “Mental health awareness across our industry has come a very long way. The next phase has to be about turning that awareness into practical, visible and measurable action. 

“This isn’t about working less, lowering expectations or reducing ambition. It is about creating an industry where people can perform at a high level, build successful careers and achieve their ambitions without routinely sacrificing the things that keep them well. 

“Our goal for 2027 is simple: fewer people merely coping and more people genuinely thriving.”