Quality of Life at Work: what it means for the adult social care workforce in England and recommendations for actions

This guide draws on a study which aimed to begin developing a care work-related quality of life tool for the adult social care workforce in England. We asked what matters most for care workers’ quality of life at work, how it was supported by employers and what staff would find helpful in the future. These findings are summarised here, along with recommendations for actions. Our findings come from focus groups and interviews with frontline care workers (n=11), national level stakeholders involved in social care (n=12) and a consensus survey of their views and those of other experts in adult social care (n=35). The research was undertaken at a time of unprecedented pressure on the social care workforce in England: the COVID19 pandemic. Like the NHS, social care has been on the front line of the pandemic. However, unlike the NHS, social care is not a unified workforce with a professional identity. Social care is delivered by around 18,200 independent providers and many of its workforce are low-paid and under-valued. Turn-over within the sector is high and recruitment challenging, even for those with professional registration, such as social workers. Understanding and supporting people’s quality of life at work is paramount if we want to retain skilled staff and ensure the best outcomes for those they care for. We want to thank all our participants, including our advisory group members, who contributed to the study and shared their experiences and expertise. Together they helped shape the recommendations in this guide, which we hope will inspire social care policy makers and leaders to create positive workplace cultures that nurture the wellbeing of staff and those they care for.