Short staffed? Shocking facts about estate agent holiday planning revealed
Despite being one of the busiest times of the year, the majority of estate agents are planning on taking annual leave this summer - but only for a week!
A survey of estate agents commissioned by EXP UK has revealed some surprising attitudes within the industry about when and how they take holidays.
Over three-quarters of those polled were planning to take annual leave of some sort, with just 24% of respondents saying they had no plans to do so.
The majority of agents, though, don’t take the traditional two weeks off. 40% only expect to take between four and seven days off, while a quarter anticipate taking eight to fourteen days. Only a fifth plan to take 15 or more days, and 14% expect to only be away for between one and three days.
And, although three quarters managed to get the time away they wanted, 17% had to shorten their holidays, and 10% had to give up on their plans. A similar number (78%) reported being able to take leave at their preferred time, but 10% had to reschedule, and 12% were not able to take any leave at all when they wanted.
Short-staffed
Being short-staffed was the main reason (45%) for having to change holiday timings, 30% said it was the result of affordability issues during the peak holiday period, 15% reported being too busy with their client workloads, and 10% said their leave request was turned down.
When agents did finally get away, most managed to switch off – 39% said they felt no pressure to stay available or responsive, 17% reported not much pressure, but 24% did experience some pressure, and 20% felt a lot of pressure.
Many are facing operational pressures such as short staffing and workload demands that impact their ability to take leave fully or when they want.”
Day says: “It is encouraging to see that most estate agents are prioritising their well-being by planning annual leave this summer despite the busy market.
“However, the data also shows that many are facing operational pressures such as short staffing and workload demands that impact their ability to take leave fully or when they want.
“The industry should recognise these challenges and work towards supporting agents’ work-life balance, and this is, of course, one of the aspects that make the self-employed model so appealing.”
