Staff storytelling


Humanising the care home workplace with stories


Dr Lalith Wijedoru of Behind Your Mask proposes storytelling at work as a means of supporting and retaining care home staff


One of the consequences of the global pandemic has been the Great Resignation, where there has been a significant rise in the number of people leaving their jobs. According to a 2022 Labour Survey from the Office of National Statistics (ONS),1


there


was a higher rate of resignations among workers coming from the five ‘shortage’ sectors finding it hardest to recruit people: construction, manufacturing, catering/ hospitality, admin support, and health/ social care. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed


considerable additional pressure on the care system, resulting in concerns about the effects on both staff and residents’ mental health and wellbeing. Increased levels of stress, anxiety, and traumatic experience have led to rising sickness and absenteeism from work, burnout, and resignations. Employers have a responsibility to promote the health and mental wellbeing of staff and residents. However, there is commonly a mismatch between what employers think their employees need and what their employees say they need for their occupational health and wellbeing.


A mismatch of expectations A 2020/2021 survey,2


found that care home


staff were experiencing anxiety about managing outbreaks of infectious diseases, bereavement and grief, long hours and lack of breaks/rest, uncertainty and stress, and the physical and emotional effects of wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) all shift.


Storytelling in-the-round at a wellbeing retreat for NHS workers. Staff have suggested that the following


would be helpful to improve working their conditions: n kindness, compassion, and trust; n valuing staff feelings; n psychological first aid training; n time and support for reflection; n managers having regular checks with staff; and


n acknowledging staff’s own personal and family responsibilities.


Research among the workforce in five English-speaking countries during the


There is a mismatch between what employers think their employees need and what their employees say they need for their occupational health and wellbeing


38


later stages of the coronavirus pandemic re-affirms this mismatch between employee needs and employer provision.3


Employers


think that employees want better holistic health provision through work (e.g. yoga, massage, mindfulness), better salaries, and the option to work from home. They also think employees leave jobs because they have been ‘poached’ by another organisation, or that they get a higher ranked position and/ or a better salary elsewhere. In fact, what employees actually want reflects a different emphasis – being valued by their manager, being valued by their organisation, a sense of belonging, and having caring and trusting teammates.


This strongly suggests that employers


need to focus on the deeper employee experience and relational elements, while treating structural factors such as salary


www.thecarehomeenvironment.com February 2023


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