Discover how care professionals support wellbeing

Wellbeing is an important concept in caring careers. It’s a rich and interesting topic, with endless opportunities to develop your understanding. Child and adult care professionals are knowledgeable and passionate about wellbeing. Therefore, if this topic is of interest we would strongly encourage you to take steps towards this type of career.

To get you started, here’s a simple way of thinking about wellbeing:

There are many more important social aspects of life which affect our wellbeing, like our relationships and our feeling of belonging at home and in our community. Sadly these are sometimes overlooked within society, leading to some people experiencing loneliness and reduced opportunities for example. Care professionals recognise the importance of promoting these social aspects of wellbeing alongside physical health and it’s for this reason that the term ‘social care’ is used.

Some public service organisations will use a specific definition of wellbeing to guide their work, shaped by the needs of those they want to support. So you may be introduced to specific definitions depending on the type of role you have, and the people you support. For example, the following definition from Children in Scotland was written for people who work with children. It contains eight indicators of wellbeing and is known by its abbreviation, SHANARRI.

We all have an equal right to wellbeing, regardless of whether we are young or old, rich or poor, or if we live with a health condition or disability. We should all enjoy good access to services and support which helps us achieve the best level of wellbeing, and for some of us the contribution of social care services will be vital.

If you want to read more about wellbeing, click on each of the rows below to reveal or hide more information. Then keep scrolling to the first topic.

From the start of the pandemic, the care workforce went above and beyond to support people receiving care. In recognition, the SSSC published the Inspiring Care Stories which demonstrate the values, compassion and professionalism of care workers across Scotland.

Kirsty is a support worker who works with children with learning disabilities in an organisation called Supporting Positive Paths in Edinburgh. Here’s a quote from Kirsty’s Inspiring Care Story.

Kirsty’s quote provides a powerful example of the concern care workers have for the wellbeing of others. Kirsty was worried about the risk of emotional harm to children whose health conditions meant they were spending much of their time inside, isolated from people they knew. She came up with a creative, fun and educational activity which recognised the children’s unique needs. It’s likely that the opportunity to take part and stay connected to their support service increased the children’s emotional wellbeing. It’s also likely the children’s families and Kirsty’s colleagues benefited from her work.

Take some time to read some more of the stories which are organised in this image under six themes.

Clicking on a button will open a Sway (a type of digital presentation) in a new tab where you can read the story and play videos where available.

Once you’ve read some stories, come back to this page and try some of the activities below. 

A career in care is life-changing, for you and the people you will work with. You’ll have opportunities to make a difference in someone’s life, from providing comfort in times of distress to being there to celebrate the big things they can achieve with the right support. It’s no wonder why many current care workers call it the most rewarding job they’ve ever had.

The rewarding nature of the work is strong motivation for starting a career in care, and if it has made you consider this career that’s great news! While we want to encourage more people into these important roles we also want to make sure that, as part of your preparation, you’re informed about some of the challenges you’ll face, particularly in times of crisis like a pandemic, and the supports available to you and future colleagues to maintain a good level of wellbeing at all times.

Click on the rows below to hide or reveal more information.

The Wellbeing Hub contains numerous help resources like articles, podcasts (an audio based resource) and webinars (a class or workshop shown over the internet). Some resources are short (like this six tips for a better sleep ) and some take more time (like this podcast for working parents which is about one hour long).

While the Wellbeing Hub was created for current health and social care workers it may be helpful for you too. If there’s something worrying you at the moment we’d recommend you take a look at the resource list and see if there’s something to read, watch or listen to which may give you new ideas for taking care of your own wellbeing.

The Wellbeing Hub also can point you towards free wellbeing apps and online programmes. There’s also a page about services which include local services and a new national helpline. The most important thing is that you find something which works for you, and is in the format you prefer.

Click on the rows below to try the activity questions and reveal more information about wellbeing and further learning. 

During the pandemic we gathered stories of care professionals because we wanted to share their inspiring skills and qualities. This team from Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership explain how relationships, communication and leadership helped them through a difficult period.

Everyone working in care will need to be able to work as part of a team, whether that’s a large team or a very small one. As seen in the video, sometimes a team will stay in touch using technology rather than always meeting in person. Take some time to play the video to understand how team members can support each other, and why it’s important.

In some services, like care at home or housing support, you may be working on your own more than usual. This is sometimes called being a ‘lone worker’. This is a common feature of many roles in care, even if you’re only working alone some of the time. If you start work in a role like this you will be shown how to keep in touch with your team and your manager. 

Some people enjoy working alone some or most of the time. Skills for Care (an organisation which supports care workers and employers in England) asked care workers what they enjoyed about this kind of work, and found they liked: 

• the rewarding nature of being able to provide one-to-one, personalised care and support for people 
• the opportunity that lone working provides to build and sustain relationships with the people they support 
• witnessing the positive effects that regular and consistent one-to-one care and support can have on the people they support, particularly around happiness and general demeanour. 

Working alone may bring particular types of risk. If you have an accident or encounter a problem there may not be someone nearby, so it may take longer for help to reach you. No matter what the potential risk is there should always be an identified way that it will be managed by your employer, with your cooperation, so that you can keep safe. 

Your employer will have more guidance for you if you start working in this kind of role. Always speak with your manager if you have any concerns about risks which aren’t being appropriately managed. 

Here are some examples of risks faced by lone workers, with suggestions for how they can be managed. Click on, or tab to, the solutions for each type of risk. It’s important to be aware of these so you can act appropriately if you need to, however you shouldn’t expect these to happen very often.

Click on the rows below to hide or reveal activity questions and access further resources.