Employers might review their rostering systems to check that they don’t cause stress due to: … Rosters that include too many unpaid work hours (due to long driving times between clients or ‘wasted’ time during split/broken shifts) … Hours of work being unfairly distributed among staff (staff given too few, or too many hours that don’t match their preferred number of hours) … Inadequate time allocated for travel between clients, so that driving time eats into rostered visit times. This can lead to dangerous driving, rushing shifts, or working unpaid overtime to complete tasks in each shift … Inadequate time rostered for completing all tasks during a visit – leading to staff working unpaid overtime … Workers having no means of scheduling emergency shift cover out of business hours, when they can’t work (for example if they fall ill) … Care workers not having a stable roster of continuing clients, so constantly facing the unpredictability attached to new clients … Care workers being poorly matched with clients in terms of their skills and personalities, or the client’s needs and location, and … Being given rostered shifts that don’t match workers’ preferred shift types (morning, evening) or their availability for work due to other commitments. Stress-reducing rostering practices Allowing workers to plan their lives: for example by (where possible) giving two weeks’ advance notice of the roster. Allowing workers to turn down shifts that they’re unavailable for, without pressure or negative consequences. Using reliable rostering systems for recording employees’ preferences and matching these preferences with available shifts. Limiting travel time and unpaid time on the job: for example, by using rostering rules and GPS technology to match care workers with clients who live close to workers’ homes. Unpaid working time occurs where there is peak client demand for home care services at each end of the day (early in the morning and evening meal time). This leads to split shifts and unpaid working time in the middle of the day. One solution used by providers is for rostering staff to negotiate alternative visit times with clients where they are flexible about the time of the day and day of the week they receive care. This avoids split shifts and allows for rosters that meet workers’ hours preferences. Other stress-reducing rostering practices include Processes that allow care workers to feed back to office staff where rosters are unfair or inefficient (for example, where workers have too few or too many hours) and see improvements in their roster, without negative consequences.
Employers might review their rostering systems to check that they don’t cause stress due to: … Rosters that include too many unpaid work hours (due to long driving times between clients or ‘wasted’ time during split/broken shifts) … Hours of work being unfairly distributed among staff (staff given too few, or too many hours that don’t match their preferred number of hours) … Inadequate time allocated for travel between clients, so that driving time eats into rostered visit times. This can lead to dangerous driving, rushing shifts, or working unpaid overtime to complete tasks in each shift … Inadequate time rostered for completing all tasks during a visit – leading to staff working unpaid overtime … Workers having no means of scheduling emergency shift cover out of business hours, when they can’t work (for example if they fall ill) … Care workers not having a stable roster of continuing clients, so constantly facing the unpredictability attached to new clients … Care workers being poorly matched with clients in terms of their skills and personalities, or the client’s needs and location, and … Being given rostered shifts that don’t match workers’ preferred shift types (morning, evening) or their availability for work due to other commitments. Stress-reducing rostering practices Allowing workers to plan their lives: for example by (where possible) giving two weeks’ advance notice of the roster. Allowing workers to turn down shifts that they’re unavailable for, without pressure or negative consequences. Using reliable rostering systems for recording employees’ preferences and matching these preferences with available shifts. Limiting travel time and unpaid time on the job: for example, by using rostering rules and GPS technology to match care workers with clients who live close to workers’ homes. Unpaid working time occurs where there is peak client demand for home care services at each end of the day (early in the morning and evening meal time). This leads to split shifts and unpaid working time in the middle of the day. One solution used by providers is for rostering staff to negotiate alternative visit times with clients where they are flexible about the time of the day and day of the week they receive care. This avoids split shifts and allows for rosters that meet workers’ hours preferences. Other stress-reducing rostering practices include Processes that allow care workers to feed back to office staff where rosters are unfair or inefficient (for example, where workers have too few or too many hours) and see improvements in their roster, without negative consequences.
accessible-version-guide-to-reducing-home-care-worker-job-stress.docx