Study finds higher work related quality of life in homecare

The study, undertaken on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care, by the University of Kent, Skills for Care and Ipsos looked at the work related quality of life and wellbeing of the Adult Social Care workforce in August-October 2023. They found that registered managers, personal assistants, occupational therapists, people employed by local authorities and those working in home care services were more likely to report higher wellbeing than the adult social care workforce as a whole.

Participants working in homecare reported or scored higher life satisfaction, lower anxiety, higher happiness, higher general wellbeing, better home-work interface, higher job and career satisfaction, greater control at work, and better working conditions than the adult social care workforce in general.

The study's findings also included:

• 69% of the adult social care workforce say they can make a difference in people’s lives, rising to 81% for homecare workers
• 86% said they had good relationships with the people they care for rising to 93% for homecare workers
• 65% reported freedom and independence to make decisions and carry out tasks, rising to 76% for homecare workers
• People in homecare are more likely to say they have time to do their job well with 69% agreeing to this compared to 52% average. 
• 80% report feeling safe at work (29% of residential care workers felt unsafe, compared to 13% of homecare workers)
• 49% had experienced or witnessed physical violence from people cared for. However, this was concentrated in residential care with 70% of care home staff reporting physical violence compared to 26% of homecare staff. Worryingly, staff working in homecare were less likely to report violence when it did happen, with 16% reporting that they did not report it compared with 7% of care home staff. 
• 17%  of care home staff reported violence from family members of those being supported compared to 11% of homecare staff; violence from managers and colleagues was also higher in care homes.
• 46% had experienced or witnessed harassment, bullying or abuse from people cared for. Again, this was more commonly reported in care homes (57%) compared to homecare (31%). 
• care home staff were also more likely to experience bullying, harassment or abuse in the last 12 months (32% from managers or team leaders, 40% from other colleagues, 26% from family members of people cared for) compared to homecare staff (20% from managers, 23% for colleagues, and 22% from family of person being cared for respectively)
• a third (34%) agree that as soon as they can find another job they will leave their organisation or employer; the main reasons for this included pay and the impact of the job on their health. 58% of care home staff reported thinking often about leaving their role, compared to 41% of homecare staff. Pay was a more common concern amongst those working on zero hour contracts, which included a significant number of homecare staff. 
• Only 61% said that they had had an annual review, appraisal or development review in the last 12 months. However, where they had had them, homecare workers were more positive about the benefits from this than the sector average.
• 52% worry about work outside of work hours but this dropped to 42% for homecare workers
• 56% of homecare workers said they were able to look after themselves at work, compared to 50% of care home staff.
• 68% said they do not have enough financial security. More homecare staff reported that they had financial security (35%) than care home staff (28%). Though, payment for travel time was a particular concern for homecare staff.