A survey back in 2019 from CV-Library, a UK independent job site, has found that 62% of social care workers have left a job because they are fed up with spending too much time at work and not enough with their families. The survey investigated how 1,200 workers in various industries across the UK felt about their work-life balance and whether it affected their career decisions, and results showed that one in four (40.5%) carers admitting that they do not currently spend enough time away from work.
The impact of COVID-19 has exacerbated this as care workers have had another concern on top of their hours; making sure they are safe for their service-users or residents alongside balancing their caring responsibilities, with family.
Why is a work-life balance important?
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is not only important for health and relationships, but it can also improve carers’ productivity, and ultimately performance. Working with people in need of care or support can be intense. It can give rise to emotional challenges and negative emotions. It is important to notice this, as a sign of poor work/life balance. Signs could include:
- Overeating, or not eating enough.
- Experiencing lack of sleep.
- Having nightmares about work or certain situations with clients.
- Getting sick more often than usual.
It’s perfectly normal to feel stressed out every so often, having a hectic day during the week happens to everyone. When carers notice these issues and signs occurring regularly and simultaneously that they need to consider their mental health and start prioritising better balance in their life.
It’s critical for care workers to remember that their health should be a top priority. In order to help others, you must focus on helping yourself, so that you can provide the best care possible.
1. Learn to self-reflect
It important to reflect on what’s affecting work/life balance. Find out the causes and potential solutions, and attempt to implement those solutions. Even if its something as simple as taking a regular lunch break to shut off for a period of time, as hard as this may be. If this solution doesn’t work, then start over and try again, hopefully find something that works in time.
2. Set reachable goals every day.
Daily tasks will likely be different, based on service-users’ situations. Writing down a list of priorities and check each task off throughout the workday will help. It can help create a sense of control and accomplishment when things get hectic – it’s important to remember to be realistic with workloads and deadlines.
3. Step back and take a break.
In care it can feel like you never have a spare 15 minutes and you’re always on the move, but there should always be time to take a break. Walking away from work helps to clear your mind and can even improve the ability to handle tasks and make better decisions when returning to work. Care providers should have processes in place to allow carers to have breaks when needed, it shouldn’t feel like a chore to have a break, and carers shouldn’t feel like it’s something they can’t have.
4. Focus on ‘me time’
Making time for yourself is so important for mental health and overall satisfaction. Whether you enjoy walking with friends or going on days out, it’s key to step back, have time off and prioritise yourself for a period of time. This can be something rarely done is such a role.
5. Speak to your employer
If a carer has recognised that their workload has become impractical, it’s time to speak to an employer about flexibility. Taking time off can offer the break needed to clear your head and properly assist and care for service-users or residents in the future.
A successful work-life balance has benefits to both the organisation and individual. Providers will see an increase in productivity, accountability and commitment, alongside better communication, and improved morale. The ability to retain staff better will also be a key point, as retaining carers is one of the toughest parts of running a business in this sector.
For the individual having more balance to their daily life along with a better understanding of what their best individual work life balance looks like is their biggest gain. They’ll feel more productive, improve their relationships in and out of work and reduce their stress levels, overall making their work have a more positive impact on their lives.