Topic: Leasing Agent Burn out

This is a long and scattered post and I apologize for that.

I definitely feel like I am experiencing burn out. I wanted to provide little background information.

I started in Retail Management in 2003. I got into Apartment Management in 2013.I stayed in the industry until 2015. I was an Assistant Manager and had an absentee Property Manager, the property was bought out so I left the industry to go back to retail.

In 2017, I decided to get back in the industry as a leasing agent, (and am currently still with the company), as it had been so long and I thought that no one would seriously hire an Assistant Manager after being out of the industry for so long. I have my CAM and NALP. I have been approached by 4 or 5 management companies who has attempted to bring me on board as a Leasing/Assistant Manager. While I do not mind doing leasing, I do not want it to be the majority of my tasks during the day.

I did receive a job offer for an Assistant Manager position in August of 2018 that I thought was awesome, but I decided to turn it down due to it being a 40 mile round trip daily commute. My company offered me a raise (which I received) and to be promoted to the Leasing Manager position after the first of the year. (Budgetary issues were cited as the reason why we couldn't move forward at the time.) I spoke with my Property Manager around the middle of January and she stated that we would have to do my evaluation first before we could move forward. It is now currently nearing the end of February and no evaluation in sight. I brought it up to her again and she said you just have to remind me daily and we will get around to it.

I have been given Leasing Manager tasks (reports and so forth) along with currently being the Senior Leasing Consultant so I am always first up to tour per our policy. I cannot delegate any tasks to the other two Leasing Agents as I am not the Leasing Manager. I do know that as the Leasing Manager I am required to lease and train the leasing agents, however the previous Leasing Manager operated in more of a supervisory capacity and support role, which is more what I want.

I find it a struggle to come to work everyday, and always be "ON", I am constantly working after hours off the clock (I live on site), in order to not be distracted in order to complete my work. I find it harder and harder to go above and beyond for my residents. If they have a package I immediately tell them to contact the carrier (we have Parcel Pending, but our policy is to assist them in tracking down their package.) I RTS all mail that comes to the office without apartment numbers even though we are supposed to look the resident up and put their apartment number on the mail. I find myself doing the bare minimum during the day. I have recently been consistently 5 minutes late for work everyday. I am finding no joy in my work anymore.

Again I apologize that is post is so rambling and long but I just needed to vent to anyone who would understand.

Hi John,
I completely understand your frustration - it's no fun waiting for someone else to deem your situation to be a high priority for them, especially since they already promised you something. That said, you are really putting yourself in a bad spot if you want to rectify the situation. My first suggestion is to find out if there are any reasons why they may not be moving forward, including looking inward - you are saying yourself that you are not taking your job seriously because you are upset, so it is very possible that she is rethinking things because of your actions. It's been a month and a half since the time they said they would give you the promotion, and there is no excuse for them not moving one direction or another on that, but at the same time, I feel a month and a half is not so long that mentally checking out of the job wouldn't raise some red flags.

Overall, if I were in your shoes, I would be asking these questions:

• Am I giving them any reason not to move forward?
• Is business abnormally busy to cause my manager to not be able to move forward with this?
• Does my manager understand how the delay is causing me frustration?
• Are there any other reasons why the company may need to delay filling the role?

It's very possible that your manager is simply overwhelmed with other things, and at the same time, doesn't realize what stress this is putting on you. The reaction to that scenario is going to be much different than if they are actively trying to jerk you around.

Again, if I were you, I would be proactive and ask her to put it on her calendar at a later date, rather than calling every day and hoping she happens to be available. I would also absolutely show that I am right for the job - if you have checked out, then you won't have a leg to stand on. The more competent you are, the less than are willing to lose you, which gives you more leverage.

Ultimately, however, whatever steps you take really are a function of the answers to the question above.