Condominium management is a high-responsibility career requiring a huge amount of decision-making, emotional control, and constant availability. Research has found that long periods of exposure to high workloads, high rates of conflict, and being available for extended periods of time can lead to elevated levels of workplace stress and exhaustion/burnout in the condominium management profession.i, ii This article will discuss the developing best practices that provide practical, evidence-based strategies to enhance the mental health of managers, reduce burnout and encourage resilience within the condominium management profession while giving sustainable performance and promoting long-term resilience in the profession.

The “Always On” Reality of Condominium Management

Condominium managers work in an inherently unstable environment, where residents are presenting emergencies and regulatory obligations expand. Condominium management’s boundaries between “business hours” and “personal hours” become blurred; thus, the industry continues to evolve towards an “always on” culture based on instant communication through technology.

Studies have found that working in high-stress environments with emotional labour can lead to fatigue and cognitive exhaustion.iii They have less recovery time, are more prone to make mistakes, lose interest in their work and leave than those who don’t feel being observed. Therefore, supporting individuals’ mental health is an important aspect of this profession for operational effectiveness.

1. The Right to Disconnect is a Professional Protective Measure 
Ontario’s Right to Disconnect law has prompted companies to think about how employees working outside of regular hours affect employee health.iv However, many condominium managers fear that establishing boundaries may be perceived as neglect. Therefore, the idea of disconnecting from work to risk management strategy needs to be reframed.
Fatigue negatively impacts judgement, reaction time and the error rates. All of these issues create a risk when responding to an emergency. 

Practical Application: In order to reduce potential for errors, companies need to establish and communicate an Emergency Triage Protocol for determining the difference between what qualifies as an emergency (e.g., fire, flood, failure of an essential service) and administrative emergencies or urgent matters. Resultantly, this will reduce unnecessary contacts and the stress of being always on alert. Additionally, establishing structured on-call schedules will ensure that residents have access to property managers while allowing managers to take adequate time off from work.

2. Using Conflict Management Skills to Reduce Emotional Burnout
High-conflict relationships are one of the main causes of stress for condo managers. They receive resident complaints about finances, service interruptions, or the board’s decisions that they have no control over. Repeatedly handling conflict with a high level of emotional intensity can cause condo managers to feel vicarious stress.v

Conflict resolution training that focuses on acknowledgment without emotional absorption through techniques such as validating a resident’s emotions, yet maintaining a neutral and factual tone, will help to reduce escalation without personalizing their hostility.

In addition, recovery after interacting with a resident is equally as important as the conflict resolution itself. A brief physical reset to regulate nerves can include walking, drinking water, or deep breathing. Many occupational health researchers continue to support the use of small interventions (i.e., physical reset) to reduce physical stress during working hours.vi

3. Micro-Recovery to Avoid Burnout
Burnout is often thought of as a result of working too many hours; however, literature indicates that burnout can also be caused by prolonged lack of cognitive recovery.vii Managers often perform various tasks with no break and therefore become mentally fatigued.

One way to support cognitive recovery during the workday is by integrating micro-recovery strategies into one’s routine. Studies show that cognitive performance suffers due to fatigue if we focus continuously for longer than 90 minutes at a time. By incorporating short, scheduled breaks, you can mitigate some cognitive load and help sustain productivity.viii

These strategies are not luxuries but tools for preserving productivity and helping managers be more successful.

4. Using Technology to Reduce Cognitive Load
Administrative complexity also creates a great deal of stress in the workplace. Repetitive “micro-decisions” like keeping track of multiple maintenance requests via email and Excel spreadsheets also cause mental fatigue.ix To minimize this burden, property managers can create centralized communication platforms, resident portals, and establish automated tracking of all maintenance requests in a single system. By using standardized systems, property managers will spend less energy monitoring multiple communication methods and more time resolving real issues.

Case observations with property management firms that have implemented centralized systems for submitting service requests show reduced after-hours interruptions and enhanced employee morale, which further demonstrates how technology can be a tool for enhancing employee wellness when designed with care.x

5. Structures Within Organizations That Promote Resilience
The way organizations are designed at the institutional level directly impacts mental health outcomes. The conventional “generalist” model, where one person is in charge of finance, maintenance, administration and emergency management. This can cause cognitive switching and increased risk of burnout.

Building relationships among specialists and rotating on-call schedules have a positive impact on job satisfaction and retention, according to occupationally based research, linking role clarity and the equitable distribution of workload to job satisfaction and retention.xi Additionally, peer support is essential. Opportunities for managers to connect with colleagues, formally or informally, will help alleviate isolation and normalize the challenges of being a manager.

Wrapping It Up: Making Wellness a Fundamental Business Principle

The mental wellness of a condominium manager does not just exist on the outside of the operational process; it plays an essential role in creating stability within the operation, the quality of service provided, and the longevity of the profession. Managers who are supported with clear boundaries, effective tools, and a practical organizational structure will be better positioned to make sound decisions, resolve conflicts in a constructive manner, and stay involved in their work.

By incorporating wellness into all business practices, the condominium management industry can create sustainable, resilient systems to support management, boards, and communities, creating a more stable management environment.

Furquan Khan serves as the Regional Director of Sales and Marketing at Flash Security Services Ltd., bringing vast experience in assisting condominium communities and high-pressure situations. He emphasizes security practices informed by mental health, workplace safety, and assisting with operational resilience.
flashsecurity.ca

i. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. (n.d.). Stress in the workplace. Government of Canada. https://www.ccohs.ca/healthyworkplaces/workers/stress.html
ii. World Health Organization. (2019). Burn-out. In International Classification of Diseases for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics (11th ed.). https://www.who.int/standards/classifications/classification-of-diseases
iii. Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Burnout. In G. Fink (Ed.), Stress: Concepts, cognition, emotion, and behavior (pp. 351–357). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-800951-2.00044-3
iv. Government of Ontario. (2022). Written policy on disconnecting from work. Employment Standards Act, 2000. https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/written-policy-disconnecting-work
v. Figley, C. R. (1995). Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized. Brunner/Mazel.
vi. Harvard Health Publishing. (2020). Understanding the stress response. Harvard Medical School. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response
vii. Boksem, M. A. S., & Tops, M. (2008). Mental fatigue: Costs and benefits. Brain Research Reviews, 59(1), 125–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainresrev.2008.07.001
viii. Warm, J. S., Parasuraman, R., & Matthews, G. (2008). Vigilance requires hard mental work and is stressful. Human Factors, 50(3), 433–441; discussion of Mackworth’s findings on declining detection performance with time-on-task.
ix. Baumeister, R. F., Vohs, K. D., Tice, D. M., & Muraven, M. (2007). The strength model of self-control. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(6), 351–355. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00534.x
x. Olayan, T., et al. (2025). The impact of interactive communication tools on managerial communication quality and job satisfaction. Journal of Management Science Research Review, 4(4), 1442. 
xi. Gallup. (2022). State of the global workplace: 2022 report. Gallup Press. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx
 

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