- Less than a quarter of care workers are happy at the end of their shift (23%)
- Almost half are only ‘ok’, ‘frustrated’ or ‘stressed’ (42%, 3% and 4%)
- Data revealed in Mental Health Awareness Week (9-15 May 2022)
Many care workers are experiencing low morale, according to new data released by Deputy, the leading workforce management app.
Less than a quarter (23%) of the shifts worked by care workers resulted in them feeling ‘happy’ in the first four months of 2022, compared to almost half of workers in the hospitality industry (48%).
In fact, almost half of the shifts recorded by care workers were either ‘ok’, ‘frustrated’ or ‘stressed’.
The data has been recorded using Deputy’s new Shift Pulse feature. Workers rate how they’re feeling at the end of their shift on a sliding scale from ‘stressed’, to ‘frustrated’, ‘ok’, ‘good’ and ‘happy’. More than 92,500 UK shifts were measured between 1 January 2022 and 30 April 2022.
David Kelly, General Manager for EMEA at Deputy, said: “With such a high percentage of shifts worked recorded as ‘ok’, it illustrates the widespread challenge of low morale at the moment. While this will come as no surprise after the relentless pressure on workers for more than two years now, this data highlights how vital it is for employers and managers to look after their teams. Doing so is important for each individual’s own wellbeing, but also for the good of residents and for the success of the business.”
The data comes as part of Mental Health Awareness Week (9-15 May 2022), an annual event that provides an opportunity for the whole of the UK to focus on achieving good mental health.
David Kelly said: “The urgent need for greater Government support remains in order to address the ongoing staffing shortages both from a recruitment and immigration perspective, and also to support low-paid staff who need to isolate due to Covid-19.
“But in the meantime, it’s important for managers and owners who receive negative feedback to use it to open up conversations with their staff and find ways to improve things. We want to help managers and employers to support the good mental health of UK shift workers.
“Our new Shift Pulse feature is designed to provide workers with a simple way to share how they’re feeling after every shift, so that managers can respond to their team’s needs.”
With Shift Pulse, staff can provide insightful feedback at the end of each shift so managers can address any issues and keep their teams happy and engaged. When staff clock out, they can rate how they are feeling. They also have the option to leave an anonymous comment for their manager.
Using the engagement dashboard, managers can see in real-time as shift ratings and comments flow in, and spot trends week over week.