Calling care home workers: New study calls for carers’ opinions on conditions

According to the SPI team, ‘As we emerge from a very demanding pandemic we need to find ways to renew paid care work.  

‘We hear a lot from the managers and owners but little from care workers themselves who are a relatively hidden population. We actually know very little about the conditions of care workers and what it is like from their perspective.’

Mary Daly, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy and leader of the survey, says, ‘Our aim is to bring together a range of people involved in the sector to develop proposals to improve the working conditions and ensure that care workers, as a hugely important group of workers, receive the recognition they should.’

The research will gather care workers’ experiences to create guidelines for employers and national policy makers – with the aim of improving care home workers’ lives. It plans to develop new approaches to attracting and retaining workers, taking into account:

• Why they do care work?
• What keeps them in their jobs? and
• What makes them leave?

The study will bring together employers’ bodies and key organisations to think creatively about building cultures of wellbeing, workplaces that are supportive, and working environments where care workers can thrive and see their loyalty rewarded.