Exhausted advisers considering part-time hours

Speaking on a recent episode of the ifa Show, Helen Baker, the founder of the On Your Own Two Feet service, pointed to one key pandemic-related issue – exhaustion.

Ms Baker noted that while advisers face many adversaries, one most advisers are silent about is exhaustion. 

While other Aussies are jetting off to exotic locations or taking lengthy mental health breaks, for advisers it’s not as simple as packing a suitcase and boarding a flight.

According to Ms Baker, there are many dependencies at play.

“Having been through what we’ve all been through, I would just like to go and travel for a year and have a break. And our industry, I think is the only industry that really doesn’t allow that to happen because we always, every quarter, have to do CPD points,” Ms Baker said.

“We have to do these regulatory assessments, certainly under our licence we do anyway. You can’t actually go and have one whole year off and have a proper mental health break.”

As a result, advisers are increasingly considering scaling back to part-time work.

“A lot of female advisers, and men to be fair, are wanting to work part-time going forward or dial down their hours,” Ms Baker said.

But she noted issues with this work model, pinpointing costs as a key barrier.

“The fixed costs are so high that you almost have to be in or out because part-time, it’s very difficult to service enough clients that still make it profitable for you,” Ms Baker explained.

“So I think there are still a lot of issues for people.

“I mean, I still feel the squeeze from every angle being able to be there for clients who I’d love to provide advice to, but I can’t and time off, and then having more study hanging over our heads. It just doesn’t seem to end.”

To hear more from Ms Baker tune in to our podcast later this week.