August 09th, 2017

Caring for the Carer

Do you or your employees work in the caring industry?   If so, when was the last time you checked on the wellbeing of your staff not just your clients?
I have spoken at many wellbeing events and conferences in caring industries such as Health Care, Aged Care and Hospitality.   These industries are often filled with emotionally astute people, those who care greatly about the happiness, comfort and emotional wellbeing of others.
However, it is fair to say that as a result of this, many employees and managers in the caring industry do care more about the emotional wellbeing of the people they serve, rather than their own emotional wellbeing!
As a result, we have organisations filled with people who are exhausted, uninspired and often resentful of the amount of energy they use taking care of other people’s needs.
Those who choose to work to work in these industries often fail to place their own wellbeing as a priority.    As a result, they put the needs of everyone else before their own needs.  They may say Yes to extra tasks when they are already exhausted and fail to prioritise their own needs.

Nora was a client of mine who worked as a nurse.    She was a wonderful nurse and the welfare of her clients was of utmost importance to her.   However, Nora had few boundaries and as a result, would often agree to extra work or taking care of tasks which were not really hers in the first place!   Rather than ask for support, Nora would ‘just get on with it’ often telling anyone who would listen how tired and exhausted she was.

The truth is Nora cared little about her own wellbeing and it is not surprising that she became burnt out and resentful after some time.    

Nora’s story is one I hear regularly from clients.    However, as a Manager, how would it be if your employees took responsibility for their own wellbeing rather than blaming the organisation or people around them?       In my wellbeing workshops and motivational speaking engagements,  I love to chat with employees and managers about how the productivity of an organisation and the wellbeing of employees can all increase by a few quick changes such as:

• ·         Employees learning to prioritise their personal wellbeing
• ·         Employees learning to ‘take back their power’ at work and become empowered rather than dis-empowered.
• ·         An organisation encouraging self-responsibility rather than blame.

Of course, Management have a huge role in the above in that they must create an environment that welcomes an employee’s self-care and empowered employees.  
For more information on UK Motivational Speaker and Wellness Trainer Lisa Phillips, please contact lisa@lisaphillips.com.au.