Topic: Do you guys ever get really burned out and wanna leave the industry?

I’m really tired of the resident’s verbal abuse, not being appreciated by the higher ups, the low pay for all the work we do etc? I love this industry, but sometimes I think to myself, there’s gotta be a less stressful job out there...

Get your re al estate license and work for an owner directly. It’s so much better than dealing with corporate BS

I’ve been doing this 40 years now and I found a family owned company who appreciates us like family... choose wisely next time and find happiness.. we don’t allow resident abuse that’s an immediate 10
Day notice it’s in their lease

Every job has its stressors. I do this despite the stress because I see personal value in helping provide quality homes to people. It's not the marketing, not the shiny amenities, but the fact that I might just be the only smile they see today.
It's not RoI or occupancy percentage, it's the fact that I am building community. Even when they're yelling, it's *my* people.
Hell, I just told one of my coworkers today that the upset resident wasn't our problem; we are their solution.

Dear One, there is never a reason to endure verbal abuse from anyone , EVER. I am a retired training VP and always told our teams this was totally unacceptable . If your supervisor feels you must put up with this you must find a company that respects you and will back you up. There are plenty out there as I was blessed to be with those who did exactly that . My best to you ! It really is a wonderful industry.

Pat Johnson Wiley Thank you, Pat. Just the other day I had a resident become aggressive and violent. He snatched the pen out of my hand and slammed it on my desk breaking it. Then he started approaching me and instead of intervening, my manager ran out of the office and disappeared! That made him even more upset because he then wanted to speak with her and she was no where to be found! I had to calm him down and said that I would have her call him, but he stormed out of the office looking for her. A few minutes later she walked in like nothing. I asked her why she would leave me there in such a situation and her response was “ I just didn’t want to get in the middle of that” Wow! Just WOW!!

Pat Johnson Wiley I always say safety first. People can be crazy. Why stay and try to talk him down? Get somewhere safe and call the police! I used to think I could fix everything until my maintenance guy had a gun put to his head. We changed the way we do things the next day!

Most people just need a hug. Your angry residents are likely feeling the same way that you are about their lives, jobs, etc. Everyone has a bad day. And we are all in control of our feelings. It’s only as stressful as you let it be.

Decide if you are worth more than that. Once you decide that them simply start making choices that support that decision.

This job will kill u if u let it. My suggestion, Find a outlet. Take up a new hobby to get your mind off the nonesense. I started taking up photography and it gave me a great outlet and I feel much better about work every since.

My wife left the industry because she was tried of it. She getting paid less but she is happy so I support her.

I’m taking a 6 mo break after 11 years. I love the industry but it does take a toll on you. Listen to your body and your mind and soul.

I’m going through the same thing and I’m switching into multifamily real estate development! Much better than property management

Word of advice from my first VP of Sales. ” When it stops becoming fun, get out!”

Do you mind, what type of property do you manage in the class ABC type scale???

A “C” property in a not so nice area of town.

Ok, best of luck. Sorry to hear your feeling this way. I been in the I dusty and never been unfortunate to be at a property where residents made new feel that way, maybe one or two but once I proof am following lease guidelines and that I will exercise the lease rights they tend to calm down.

Yep. I left 3 weeks ago and as much as I loved the industry I was so burnt out and honestly ive never been so happy since leaving.

I constantly feel this way and that is why I started working out... The problem I have is I'll let the job consume me. I care too much and need fast results... When I'm having a shitty day where nothing is going right I go get on the lateral elliptical on my lunch, take out the aggression and go back feeling like I can overcome all opsticals... Or start my morning with a work out class... Or do both. I realize it sounds crazy, but it gets me through and keeps me in check

I felt that way and went to the vendor side. You can take what you know and apply your skills that way.

It took me finding the right company. I still get exhausted by the amount of work we have to do but they care about their employees and support a true culture of self care. BH Management

I have to say, after 28 years. If you dont love what the good days bring and disregard a few of the bad days...

Yes, I am tired of trying to find new employees. There aren’t enough industry professionals to go around and we aren’t cultivating new ones. It is exhausting to have 15 positions and 11 are open.

You are giving folks a home. That it amazing

They say the best attributes the manager of the “new age” can bring is emotional intelligence. It surpasses the need for skill as it relates to customer service and retention. Yep. Old but new. Those that can bring those solutions, survive.

I love my job!! Sometimes, I have to leave the office, pretend to be a grounds keeper, No stress, Walking around, Picking up trash, and Enjoying the views on the beach. Lol. Seriously, I know it’s stressful, you have to find a way to release the stress.

I have left a time or two because you can always come back. Or it mysteriously pulls you back

Take a break! Sounds like you could use one!
2

Yep! After 32 years I finally got brave enough to do it. No regrets!

Yes after 40 years in this business there are days that I think about leaving but the key is to find a good company that is fair and motivates employees. I do know one thing you have to love whatever you’re doing.Sometimes you just have to regroup or for yourself

After 14 years I couldn't deal with the people and their rudeness anymore so I moved over to commercial. You are definitely appreciated and treated with respect. Your working and dealing with professionals, not adolescents. I've been so much happier since!

As a 40 year veteran in property management, I have taken two breaks. I also peppered my experiences and worked on different types of projects and properties:
1. Did new construction
2. Did renovation work on site.
3. Did work in corporate housing. I jumped into the vendor side for a bit.
4. Restructured the housing division on an Indian reservation.
Condo conversion
Re-marketed a property strictly for the deaf community.
5. Worked in difference positions; leasing, assistant manager, pacesetter, regional manager, VP, Executive Director of Sales and Marketing.
Etc.
Please try different things.
It’s really about who you work with and for.
These days, I’m in it for a hot minute, if the environment aka corporate culture is off, I bounce out pretty fast.
Keep moving around until you find your fit, don’t settle -
♥️
Best of luck

Donna Hickey this woman right here????❤️‼️If you ever get the opportunity to work alongside her, as I once did, you will love the job again.
Do take a break when burned out. I am currently on a break. It is great to be in a completely stress free environment, but I know I will be back in the biz within a year. It’s in the blood.

I found a smaller/family-owned company who really respect and reward their hard working team members. The larger company’s can be difficult to move up in and even be heard. Regardless, verbal abuse from residents should not be tolerated. You are there to provide a service, not be someone’s human punching bag! Sorry you had to deal with that!

.....and that’s when I moved to the vendor side of the industry I love.

Tried to leave a few times but always came back...it is a love/hate industry you either love it & carry on or hate it & never look back when you leave...but you always have the good & bad memories

If you can make it thru the rough days, I promise it's worth it ❤ keep working hard and your hard work will pay off!

It seems as though every industry has its "roller coaster moments" but if deep down, you love what you do then I think you are in a great place in life :-). Inhale the good and exhale the BS, you are a rockstar and don't ever let anyone make you believe otherwise.

And if it doesn't get better, try another company? There's always those up and down moments but I've finally been with a company that I'm happy and grateful to be a part of. Your uppers should make you feel appreciated!

I took a break after 18 years and got my real estate license. Now I’m ready to come back.

Yes after 25 years I feel the same as you. Middle man and very un appreciated. On call 24/7 really takes its toll. To never really be off. No work life balance.

Some days I would trade it all in to work on a farm again. Everyone is verbally abusive...not cows...they appreciate everything.

Marie, I get where you are at. Sometimes it is good to take a break...or even a vacation! It can be stressful but where is that stress coming from and how do you deal with it? I have always told and demonstrated to my team that I treat everyone the way I want to be treated. The difference with me though is that I refuse to accept anything less in return. Sometimes it’s just how you respond to your stressors that set the tone for your situation. I don’t know if I can help you, but if you would like to chat I would be happy to give you my phone number. It’s a great industry and I’ve been in it for 30 years. Some days are really harder than others and it helps to have a great support system. I promise you that anything you are going through, there are many of us who have gone through it as well. Maybe we can help you. Hang tough and send me a message if you’d like to talk

Vacation time

Not alone, I've noticed in my region once people hit around 35 they either move up or move on... most the people I stared out in the business with have retired from it and moved on to a less stressful field. I'm up in the air right now after doing it 15yrs, the residents seem to be worse and our region is so catty it's not even fun anymore. Companies are horrible to work for as well, I was in that same spot burnt myself out running my property for 3yrs without a break... finally put a vacation request in and in return they let me go the next day. For me I just want to work for someone who values me as an employee, where I don't run myself into the ground, and be in a field with less drama/cattiness.

I've been trying to get out of the industry for YEARS! People seem to think that we only show apartments.

This industry, you’ll either love it or hate it. I left the industry for about 8 years and thought I’d never come back. This industry gives you so much experience in customer service, legal documents, policy, procedures, and not to mention all the computer and administrative experience to possibly handle any office. I’m glad I cane back.

Yes and I went to the vendor side!

For those who did get out, what did you go to? What field did your skills transfer too?

Carlie Smith I did sales for corporate housing.

Yep...every day

Be the Change you want to see!

I feel this way especially lately. Then i think what else can i even do?

Yes but think of all of the residents that make it worth it. When you serve people especially with a home, it has many different facets and challenges but imagine the impact you make on their lives. A home! They will remember for their lifetime. Memories created.

That's terrible. And what a terrible manager. I would never leave my associate with an irate resident. I would be in there to make sure everything was going smoothly, and I would tell him to leave if he was being disrespectful and getting up in your face.

After yea of all the corporate BS, if was too invested in the industry and felt too old to start something new. I made the decision to find a small family owned operation in a small rural area-away from the big city. Being a small family outfit detached from the corporate mindset, they aren’t in any way poisoned by the stressful mindset that the large companies have. It has now been 7 years since this move and I still feel it was the best thing I ever did for my sanity. I realize that the idea of climbing the corporate ladder is not gonna happen in this setting, but at my age my dainty and wellbeing is much more important these days. I would completely recommend to anyone in the big city, working for those large property management organizations who are feeling stressed out and burned out, find a small family operation in a small rural town away from the large metropolitan city. Your years of experience with the structured large companies will be treated like gold by them.

I am in my 37th year in the business and working at the 6th organization. If you are unappreciated and unsupported change where you are working. Network with others in the business to find out good places to work. You might look at glassdoor.com which sometimes has information about the work environment posted by people working at specific companies.

If you truly love the business but hate the environment where you are working, for your sanity and sense of self worth change your employer. Also consider working in an adjacent part of the business - perhaps on the vendor side or in a different setting with different clientele. There are all kinds of properties and tenant profiles that can impact your work environment. Some in the industry say it is best to work for an owner managed organization, but others I know who work predominately in fee management like the challenge of taking care of different owner's needs.

I agree with Pat Wiley who I have worked with in the past and also the sentiment addressed by Kathleen Silver: Be the change rather than a victim of circumstances! Don't put up with it!

Those who have transferred to other careers (vendor side, commercial, etc) have you found that pay is comparable? It is hard to find an industry that pays equivalent but dang it burns you out! :(