While the wellbeing of the residents you care for is paramount, it’s equally vital that your team is supported and nurtured too. Providing care can be physically and emotionally demanding, which is why fostering a culture of wellbeing among your staff is so important.
Get it right, and you’ll not only create a positive work environment for them, but also maintain the highest standards of care for the individuals they care for.
8 Ways to alleviate stress and support your care home team’s wellbeing
1. Invest in your team’s professional development
You don’t need me to tell you that investing in your staff’s training matters. Good training not only enhances the skills of your staff and enables them to deliver the best quality of care, but also boosts confidence, reduces stress and improves job satisfaction overall. It’s a win win!
All of FuturU’s CPD-accredited care courses are completely free for your team. Our training is fresh, immersive and accessible anytime, anywhere. Interested in learning more about how we can help you support your team’s professional development? Get in touch to book a demo today.
2. Create a supportive work environment
It takes time and dedication, but cultivating a culture of openness, respect and support within your care home team couldn’t be more important. Encourage your team to share their concerns, challenges, ideas and successes by running a regular team meeting.
One-to-one meetings are a crucial tool for communication and collaboration too, providing you and your team an opportunity to discuss goals, progress and challenges privately, and get to know each other better.
You can improve one-to-one meetings by:
- Being consistent – avoid cancelling or skipping one-to-ones if you can help it
- Drafting an agenda, and sharing this ahead of time so everyone’s on the same page
- Not getting bogged down in the day-to-day – remember, this time is for you and your team to talk more broadly about their passions, pain points and plans
- Making a conscious effort to note down any actions that come from your conversation, so next steps are clear
- Always acting on the feedback your team gives you.
As a manager, you’ll encounter many problems and scenarios requiring different responses – from house move woes, to new arrivals, health issues, break-ups and confidence crises. And it takes time to learn how to navigate these with kindness and empathy. Sometimes, there’s things you can do to support your team, but other times, there’s nothing you can do or say to make it better. If in doubt, listen – they’ll thank you for it.
3. Signpost support
Make sure your team knows that you’re there to support them, and share dedicated resources aimed specifically at improving staff wellbeing.
Here’s some free resources you might find helpful:
- Mental Health UK has an extensive collection of downloadable resources, including conversation guides for managers, wellbeing plans and a guide to managing stress
- Mind offers a great selection of guides aimed at both managers and employees on how to be mentally healthy at work
- Here at FuturU, we offer a 100% free Inner Wellness training course for healthcare professionals. Led by globally recognised inner wellness expert Suhail Mirza, this course provides a foundational understanding of inner wellness and outlines Suhail’s 6-step daily success ritual.
4. Ask for feedback
Get into the habit of regularly requesting feedback from your team if you’re not already doing so.
Send out a survey to all staff via email, highlighting that responses are anonymous to encourage people to be honest. You can use a free tool like Google Forms for this.
Include questions like:
- Do you feel that your employer is supporting your mental wellbeing currently?
- Do you feel that your work is positively or negatively influencing your mental health?
- How could your employer help improve your mental wellbeing?
- How do you feel about your job?
- Do you feel confident that you have the skills needed to do the best job you can?
- Would you recommend working here to friends and family?
Once you’ve received feedback from your team, it’s imperative that you then act on it. Identify the key themes that have emerged and the things you can do to address them. Break out actions into quick wins and longer term projects, then create a priority list with deadlines to share back with the team.
5. Listen actively
More often than not, creating a positive work environment is all about listening to others rather than telling them what to do. Ensure you’re listening actively in every team meeting and one-to-one you have.
That means keeping eye contact, and showing you’re listening through your body language (facial expressions, nodding your head and the occasional ‘yes’ or ‘uh huh’). Look out for nonverbal signs from them too, like eye contact, facial expressions and posture, which often convey more than what’s actually being said.
6. Lead by example
As a leader in a care home, it’s important that you set a positive example by prioritising your own wellbeing. Demonstrate healthy work habits by doing the following:
- You don’t need to act tough to earn the respect of your team – being open and honest about how you’re feeling, and showing you’re human too, will help build better relationships and encourage your team to open up
- Consider your words, tone and behaviour – what you say and how you say it matters. When you have a negative attitude towards something, you’re signalling to your team that you don’t believe in what you’re doing, and this can lower their morale
- Take breaks when you’re due one, and use your annual leave allowance to recharge
- Always show empathy, compassion and understanding towards your team.
7. Show gratitude
Take the time to acknowledge and appreciate the hard work and dedication of your team. Whether that’s through verbal praise, given privately or publicly, an employee recognition programme, or small gestures like thank-you notes or team events, showing gratitude regularly will boost morale and help your team members feel like they belong and are valued.
8. Support your team’s wellbeing with FuturU
Alongside our collection of inner wellness course modules, we’re delighted to offer an interactive and inclusive inner wellness webinar series. Your team is welcome to register for our next public webinars, or you can request to have a webinar delivered by Suhail directly to your team.
Request a webinar here, or explore how we can support your team.
