Despite the many challenges faced by the subsidized housing industry, most workers are satisfied with their jobs, according to a new survey.
MRI Software’s inaugural “Voice of the Subsidized Housing Operator” (VoSHO) report captured responses from more than 320 subsidized housing operators across the United States, representing site operations and property management staff from both public housing authorities (PHAs) and affordable housing providers.
Most respondents are satisfied with their job flexibility (80%), support from leaders (69%), salaries (67%), and the technology they use (65%), according to the report.
Compared with the full group of respondents, PHA site operations staff is less satisfied with salary (13% lower) and job flexibility (5% lower). Given the challenges faced by housing authorities, it’s not surprising that PHA site staff is among the least satisfied with their salaries in the subsidized housing ecosystem, says MRI Software.
Women made up the strong majority, 81%, of the survey respondents. The study was conducted in April and May.
“I was pleasantly surprised by some of these findings,” says Allen Feliz, vice president, U.S. affordable housing at MRI Software. “I wouldn’t have expected, for example, that salary satisfaction levels of subsidized housing operators are higher than those of market-rate property managers. Or that job satisfaction overall would be so high following the turmoil of the pandemic and ensuing rise in operating costs and reported staff attrition, not to mention longstanding economic headwinds facing subsidized housing portfolios.”
While 67% of subsidized housing respondents reported being satisfied with their salary, only 57% of conventional multifamily property managers are content with their salary, according to MRI.
Feliz warns, however, that the industry can’t rest on its laurels, especially because the subsidized housing workforce is aging. He points out that more than 83% of the VoSHO respondents are at least 45 years old.
Of the 55-plus group, 61% see themselves staying in the industry in three years’ time. This may be explained by the group’s more imminent retirement concerns. On the other hand, the highest commitment rates are from the age groups of 25 to 34 (87%) and 35 to 44 (82%).
“Although the younger respondents expressed the highest levels of commitment to the industry, employers need to keep these workers engaged by providing them with ongoing training and equipping them with the advanced technologies that they’ve grown up with and use in their personal lives,” Feliz says.
Younger respondents are the most dissatisfied with the technology they use at work.
The survey also found that the top five challenges for staff are dealing with challenging residents, working with housing compliance requirements, managing the workload, maintaining proper staffing levels, and keeping up to date with legislation.
About 67% of the respondents work for smaller organizations (less than 1,000 units managed or families in caseload), 30% work for midsized organizations (1,000 to 9,999 units), and the remaining 4% work for larger housing providers.
