The demands of caregiving can be exhausting and overwhelming. If you are a care home manager, you need to recognise the signs of caregiver stress, so you can take steps to help your caregiving staff:
Signs that your caregiving staff is under stress:
- Feeling tired
- Changes in appetite
- Losing interest in activities they once enjoyed
- Difficulty sleeping
- Difficulty concentrating
Here are a few ways you can help your caregiving staff deal with stress
- Encourage your caregiving staff to stay healthy
As a care home manager, you can take initiatives where healthy eating options for staff members. If there’s a gym inside the care home, staff should be encouraged to use it.
- Manage leave requests in advance
It is a proven fact that stressed-out employees are not the most efficient employees. To help your caregiving staff feel good about their work and life in general, plan breaks for them at regular intervals so that they don’t overwork themselves. This time-off will help them to explore new things and indulge in hobbies that make them happy.
- Switch to eMAR and reduce excessive paperwork
Switching to an electronic medication administration record such as eMAR can help you reduce the workload of caregivers. Working on conventional paper MAR charts for documenting medication administration requires a lot of time and effort. To pull out a single piece of information, they have to skim through piles of papers manually. With eMAR, caregivers can work seamlessly in recording and processing important information on a patient’s history. The electronic medication administration record software helps caregivers by:
- Sending real-time alerts to caregivers when the medicines are due.
- Eliminating confusion that is often caused due to illegible notes or missed signatures
- Giving easy and quick access to all the resident information
- Preparing month-end reports without paperwork
- Allowing better coordination between caregiving staff members
- Make them feel comfortable
It is common to feel overwhelmed while caregiving. Your caregiving staff may feel stressed out but hesitate to ask for help. Be in touch with your team and regularly talk to them. Look for any signs of grievance, negativity, and emotional turmoil and address them properly.
- Organise meditation sessions
Meditation can be immensely helpful in relieving stress. Organise meditation sessions that help caregivers learn deep breathing exercises and relaxation techniques.
- Encourage social interaction
Caregiving can be emotionally draining. However, taking part in fun activities can create a positive ambience. Celebrating staff birthdays or other group events such as a potluck, musical sessions and picnics will keep caregivers stay connected.