When compared to the stress levels of the general population, advisor stress levels are a bit scary.(Photo: Shutterstock)
Advisors are under stress, and use on-the-job coping mechanisms rather than avoidance techniques to deal with it.
That's according to a new survey from FlexShares, which reports that not only are advisors reporting an average stress level 23.3 percent higher than the national average, but the ways in which they deal with that stress differ from those used by many others.
Interestingly, although the survey was fielded in late 2018 during a time of high market volatility, it reports that many key findings from the 2017 version of the survey were unchanged—although advisors' stress levels were just a tad lower than in 2017, when they were 25 percent higher than national norms.
Stress levels are by no means consistent across the profession, however, and when compared to the stress levels of the general population, they're downright scary.
Overall, the stress level for men, the survey found, was 37.8 percent, but for male advisors, it was 47.1 percent. And women were substantially more stressed—both in the general population, at 45.6 percent, and among advisors, at 53.7 percent.
Married advisors, by the way, reported lower stress levels (14.6 percent lower among married advisors than among single advisors) and greater life satisfaction (14.7 percent more satisfaction with life, compared with singles).
What's got everyone so stressed out?
Client growth and compliance, to name two causes: chasing new clients was in the top position, with 27 percent citing the need to grow their client base, while 19 percent pointed to compliance (which occupied the top spot last year but moved down in the rankings this year). Trailing those, although not by much, were political uncertainty and market concerns.
Stressed advisors are suffering from a range of physical symptoms, which should come as no surprise to anyone else who suffers stress. The frequency of symptoms is on the rise as well, with fatigue and muscle tension up by 10 percent and 9 percent, respectively.
But advisors have some coping mechanisms—and they don't include meditation, exercise, or spending more time with friends and family. Instead, advisors report less perceived stress after engaging in such activities as being good to clients and using time management techniques.
And it's not that they don't participate in off-the-job strategies, which indeed are the most popular; it's just that the on-the-job strategies, according to responses, were 19 percent more effective in cutting stress than the off-the-job activities, including exercise and simply enjoying free time.
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
