With many care workers reporting symptoms of anxiety, depression and burnout, Jill Whittaker, Managing Director of Connect2Care, discusses how employers are in an ideal position to provide additional wellbeing support when it’s needed most.

Care workers form a brilliant, resilient workforce that has overcome some extremely harsh hurdles since the pandemic first hit the UK.

Though Covid-19 is now very much a part of ongoing life, care professionals are no doubt still reeling from the effects of working on the frontline during lockdown. And we know that many operators are still struggling to adequately staff their teams – building on the pressure already faced by these individuals striving to deliver excellent levels of care to the patients and residents they want to see thrive.

It’s not surprising therefore, that a recent World Health Organisation study found that a quarter of all global care workers[1] are reporting symptoms of anxiety, depression and burnout nearly three years on from the onset of the pandemic – suggesting that employees may need greater support for their mental health from their employer.

We at Connect2Care want to bring the conversation about wellbeing at work to the forefront, and highlight the opportunity care operators have to nurture a workforce and provide additional support.

If there’s one positive to take from the struggles the sector has faced in recent years, it’s that there’s a greater focus on the wellbeing of staff, not just their physical health, and this is the case for many sectors.

Once thought of as a ‘nice to have’ employee benefit, this additional support is now in high demand from the workforce – particularly in a sector with caring principles at its epicentre.

Connect2Care’s latest sector insights reveal the true impact of this: 93.5%[2] of care employees would be more likely to leave a job if there was no obvious support for employee wellbeing – sending a strong signal to care operators struggling with staff shortages.

And for those same organisations seeking to attract caring, ambitious, and conscientious individuals to their workforce, it turns out that 83.3% of employees are more attracted to working at an organisation with a progressive company culture.

Progressive workplaces and generous employee benefits packages go hand in hand. And when it comes to enhancing these packages, the majority of employees (69.1%) told us they were keen to see measures that help create a positive work-life balance, while first aid for mental health was a priority for 45.3%.

Additional ways to create a working environment that will encourage care workers to stay in their roles longer, as well as encourage new recruits who value wellbeing, include upskilling teams in particular areas. Employees we spoke to highlighted topics such as diversity and inclusion of ethnic minorities within the workplace (19.8%), LGBTQIA+ inclusion (17.6%) and understanding the impact of menopause (19.4%).

Training a workforce with the latest knowledge in these areas will no doubt result in a more aware and supportive environment, from both a peer-to-peer and management perspective.

We know that this demand to be trained in the aforementioned areas isn’t just a pipedream for employees – the desire to offer training on issues such mental health first aid and workplace inclusivity is there from an employer perspective too.

Deploying training opportunities around mental health and wellbeing across the sector will help create a strong foundation of employee care within organisations. These businesses will then be able to promote this type of support for their workforces as an invaluable benefit of being part of a particular organisation.

By caring for those who care, the sector may be able to soothe some of the root factors that are irritating overstretched teams who may currently feel their wellbeing would be better supported elsewhere. But delivering care is intrinsic to this diverse and wonderful sector, so its employers are in a stronger position than many others to build this support into everyday operations from the ground up.

Want to improve employee wellbeing, but not sure where to start? We offer a First Aid for Mental Health level 2 interactive online workshop aimed at employees of all levels.

[1] www.who.int/news/item/05-10-2022-world-failing-in–our-duty-of-care–to-protect-mental-health-and-wellbeing-of-health-and-care-workers–finds-report-on-impact-of-covid-19

[2] Survey of 1,000 employees and 300 decision-makers across a range of business sectors conducted by 3GEM and HIT Training (March 2022)