Understanding Care Worker Well-Being and Job Satisfaction: The Influence of Intergenerational Contact and Aging Anxiety

Research on contact between care workers and care home residents indicates that positive intergroup contact experiences by care workers are associated with their attitudes toward, and perceptions of, older people. Less is known about the implications of contact for care workers themselves. This study considers the potential impact of contact on care workers’ anxieties about their own aging, and the implications of such anxiety for their subjective well-being and job satisfaction. One hundred and forty-four care workers from 18 UK residential care homes completed surveys about their experiences of contact, aging anxiety, well-being, and satisfaction. Consistent with expectations from intergroup contact theory, tests of indirect effects showed that care workers who experienced more positive contact were also less anxious about their own aging. Specifically, psychological concerns mediated the effects of contact on subjective well-being, whereas fear of old people mediated the effects of contact on job satisfaction. In contrast, exploratory analysis of the reverse sequence of mediation (anxiety affecting satisfaction or well-being via contact experiences) showed no statistical support. Implications for intergroup contact theory and practical implications for supporting care workers to have more positive contact and less aging anxiety are discussed.