The role of a domiciliary care worker is an incredibly important, yet also difficult, one. Carers have people who rely on them each day to provide a high standard of care and support them physically and emotionally.
Yet care workers can also suffer physically, mentally and emotionally while carrying out their role. If care workers are not feeling supported or well in themselves, they cannot provide the high level of care that their clients need. Therefore, it is vital for employers to support care workers with their wellbeing in the workplace, and this is now a growing focus across the care sector.
Nursebuddy’s Carer Wellbeing Report 2024 analysed over 2,000 responses to its in-app Carer Wellbeing Survey. The results found that 74% of carers reported having ‘very happy’ days at the end of a shift. Yet the report delved into the reasons why carers reported having ‘very sad’ days, with 59% attributing this to working conditions.
What is carer wellbeing and why is it important?
Carer wellbeing refers to the physical, emotional, and mental health of an individual who provides care and support. Physically, carers are required to do lots of driving, walking, and lifting, which can lead to injuries such as back strain.
Mentally and emotionally, the job can be extremely tiring and draining, leading to fatigue or burnout. The unique challenge faced by domiciliary care workers is balancing professionalism with empathy, getting a job done while supporting often vulnerable people who require emotional support. Carers can see traumatic things and experience loss, which takes a toll.
Prioritising health and wellbeing leads to better outcomes for carers, clients, and families. Care workers with poor mental health and wellbeing increases the likelihood of errors, which can impact on the quality of care delivered.
Challenges faced by domiciliary care workers
The role of care workers is demanding, including long hours, emotional stress, and physical strain. Nursebuddy’s Carer Wellbeing Report 2024 reported common challenges faced by care workers as:
-
Working conditions - shift patterns and rota changes being ever-changing at the last minute, stressful and long journeys between visits made worse by external factors such as car troubles and the weather. 59% of workers felt ‘sad’ or ‘very sad’ at the end of a shift due to these working conditions.
-
Feeling exhausted, mentally and emotionally drained, undergoing long days with late hours and shifts overrunning.
-
Feeling rushed and overwhelmed, unable to get everything done in time.
-
Long days on low pay, as lots of time is spent waiting or travelling between visits.
-
Their own physical and mental state such as low mood or illness, as well as that of the people they are caring for, such as having difficult relationships with clients, impacts on their emotional state at the end of a shift.
How to take care of your wellbeing as a domiciliary care worker
-
Self-care routines - it’s important to have relaxation time, however that looks for you - whether that’s reading a book, going on a walk, or taking a long bath.
-
Make sure you get enough sleep - a regular 6-8 hours each night if you are able to.
-
Make sure you are drinking enough water throughout the day and eating enough, especially when you are travelling a lot and busy between visits, you may not be nourishing your body enough with water and healthy foods.
-
Stay active - stretching exercises can help support your back and joints, preventing strain-related injuries at work. Staying physically fit can help you in the physical aspects of your job, and exercise also releases endorphins which will improve your mood.
-
Seek support - if you feel as though you are struggling with your mental help, you should reach out for support. This could be through your GP, or through a mental health resource such as the Mind charity or the Samaritans.
▶️Watch: Resilience and self-care tips for domiciliary carers
How Nursebuddy can help support carer wellbeing
Nursebuddy has a whole host of tools that support carer wellbeing, including:
-
Carer Wellbeing Survey - where carers can give feedback on how they are feeling at the end of each shift, and is completely anonymous. This allows managers to monitor their team’s morale and spot areas which require extra support.
-
Carer Appreciation Centre - allows managers to send instant recognition and positive feedback to their teams.
-
Streamlined scheduling to prevent burnout - Nursebuddy is packed with easy-to-use scheduling tools to help homecare agencies cover visits and update rotas quickly when something changes.
-
Nursebuddy mobile app - helps carers to be prepared, confident and stay person-centred during visits, feeling more organised and less overwhelmed
-
Family Portal - grants relevant third parties access to details about a client’s care, securely. Family members and loved ones, as well as health professionals, receive the latest updates about care, with the transparency building trust amongst family members.
Nursebuddy’s real-world impact on carer wellbeing
Cynefin Care is setting the standard for care worker wellbeing. As one of the top users of Nursebuddy’s in-app Carer Wellbeing Survey, Cynefin Care is using real-time insights to improve support for their team. We spoke with co-founder Katie Jewell about how these survey results help them fulfil their mission to create better employment conditions in care.
Katie said: “Typical scores for us are 60% of shifts ending with carers feeling ‘very happy’, 20% feeling ‘happy, with the remaining 20% of shifts ending with carers reporting they feel ‘sad’ or ‘very sad’. If that suddenly dropped to 30% happiness for example, it would signal that something is very, very wrong. The new comments feature has been most helpful. It’s a great way for care workers to have a voice. The biggest selling point is it’s anonymous - our carers can tell us how they feel without any fear of persecution.”
In conclusion
It is vital for homecare managers to prioritise carer wellbeing, as having happy, healthy and supported care workers leads to better care outcomes for clients. Care workers who are happier will achieve more job satisfaction, leading to improved levels of care, job retention, and positive feedback overall for both the carer and the company.
To find out more about the issues facing domiciliary care workers and ways to improve wellbeing, download the Carer Wellbeing Report here: https://nursebuddy.co/carerwellbeing
