Staff management


Avoiding care staff conflicts in testing times


Conflict resolution expert David Liddle, chief executive of TCM, highlights the red flags that care home managers and colleagues should look out for in relation to a deterioration in mental health and what to do about it to avoid ending up in mediation


The weekly roster has just come out and two of the care assistants in the team are clearly unhappy about how shifts have been allocated. One believes they are getting more than their fair share of unsociable hours and feels their colleague is receiving favourable treatment. Previously good working relationships between them have started to sour. A strong difference of opinion in the


dementia unit over how a particular patient should be managed has led to a falling out between colleagues. Positions have become entrenched and the usual goodwill and cooperation between colleagues is starting to decline. The above situations, or similar, play


out regularly in care homes up and down the country. It is a challenging sector to work in at the best of times – but the Covid-19 pandemic has been the catalyst for greater levels of workplace conflict. The strain that NHS staff have been


under - and the resulting impact on their physical and mental health - has been well documented but much less attention has been paid to the intense pressure suffered by care workers. Dedicated staff have been desperately worried about their residents, while at the same time having to deal with anxious - and often angry - relatives who have been denied the chance to visit their loved ones. High levels of sickness absence, as


people have either become ill themselves or have had to isolate, have exacerbated the pressure, leaving teams


short-staffed and struggling to cover shifts, while feeling anxious about their own and their families health. People are physically and mentally drained, and stress, anxiety and depression among staff in the sector is at an all-time high. With this kind of pressure, it is hardly


surprising that tempers have become frayed, emotions have become heightened, and as a result, conflict has escalated.


A pressing management challenge Care home managers have found themselves between a rock and a hard place over recent months. On the one hand, they need to maintain adequate


Creating a culture of psychological safety, where people feel that they can talk openly and honestly with their manager and their colleagues, is key to ensuring mental health issues do not go unrecognized


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levels of staffing, keep up with constant changes in regulations, ensure the health and safety of residents and maintain good relations with relatives. On the other, they need to pay close


attention to the wellbeing of staff, ensuring they do not crack under the strain while maintaining a positive and co-operative working environment. With typically no HR department or expertise to draw on, this situation is testing people management skills within care homes to the utmost degree. So what can managers do to spot the


signs of declining mental health and support people who are not coping? How can they recognize when conflict is brewing and stop it in its tracks?


A looming mental health crisis The Health Foundation has predicted, based on early evidence, one of the fall- outs from the Covid pandemic is likely to be an increase in problems such as depression, substance abuse and post- traumatic stress disorder among those working in the caring profession. Spotting the signs of people who may


be suffering is vital. Care homes clearly have a duty of care towards their employees – but managers also need to recognize that when people are stressed, anxious or angry it increases the potential for mistakes. Employees who are fueled by


adrenaline and cortisol - the stress hormones - often find it hard to think straight or react rationally. They become irritated more easily, finder it harder to concentrate and their decision-making ability can become impaired. Part of the problem is that people who


are suffering from a mental health issue are often reluctant to disclose this, either because of the stigma that to some degree still surrounds mental health, or for fear it may have a negative impact on their job.


www.thecarehomeenvironment.com• February 2021


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