The demand for care is growing at a rate the world has never seen before. People are living longer lives. In many countries, people live at least ten years longer than the global average of 73 years. This means more people need help as they age. At the same time, the number of people available to work in this field is getting smaller.
Research shows that the size of the frontline workforce will need to grow by four times to meet this future demand. This workforce includes personal care assistants, nursing assistants, and allied health assistants. Right now, many of these workers leave their jobs very quickly. In some places, more than 25% of workers stay in their roles for less than one year.
You must understand what keeps these workers in their jobs. If you can improve aged care worker retention, you can provide better care for your residents. This post looks at a systematic review of 49 studies to show you what works.
Key Takeaways
- High staff turnover hurts the quality of care and leads to more accidents like falls and infections.
- Job satisfaction depends on both personal feelings and how the organization is run.
- Positive relationships with coworkers and residents are the most common reasons why staff stay.
- Migrant care workers face unique challenges like language barriers and discrimination that must be addressed.
- Improving wages and giving staff more control over their schedules helps reduce the number of people who leave.
Why Aged Care Worker Retention Matters for Your Facility
When you run a facility, your staff is your most important asset. Without them, you cannot give residents the help they need with daily tasks. These tasks include help with moving, eating, and bathing. If you cannot keep your workers, your facility will struggle to function.
Retention is not just about filling holes in a schedule. It is about keeping people who know your residents. It is about keeping people who have the right skills. When workers stay for a long time, they become better at their jobs. They learn the specific needs of each person they care for. This leads to a better environment for everyone.
You must look at the data to see why people stay. The systematic review shows that retention is a global problem. It affects residential aged care facilities in the United States, Australia, Canada, and Europe. By learning from this research, you can make better choices for your own team.
The Impact of High Staff Turnover on Care Quality
High staff turnover is a major risk to safety. The research is very clear on this point. One study noted: "Staff turnover in aged care settings is negatively associated with the quality of care" Gandhi et al., 2021. When staff leave constantly, the remaining workers feel more stress. They have to work harder and faster. This leads to mistakes.
Facilities with high turnover often see:
- More resident falls.
- Higher rates of infection.
- Lower satisfaction among residents.
- Lower satisfaction among the staff who stay.
In the United States, the turnover rate for nursing assistants is almost 99%. This is a staggering number. It means almost every position is replaced within a year. This makes it impossible to build a strong team. You cannot create a culture of excellence when the faces on your team are always changing.
Individual Job Satisfaction Factors
Why do some people stay while others leave? The review found that job satisfaction factors are often tied to how a worker feels about their own identity. People stay when they feel proud of their work. They stay when they feel that their role is important.
Factors that help individual retention include:
- A sense of personal fulfillment from helping others.
- Feeling like a "caregiver" rather than just a worker.
- Receiving positive feedback from managers.
- Having peers from the same cultural background.
- Feeling that their skills are being used in the right way.
If you want to help your staff stay, you must help them feel good about their work. You should give them praise when they do a good job. You should also listen to their ideas. When a worker feels like they have a say in care decisions, they are more likely to stay.
Building Relationships with Residents and Families
The bond between a worker and a resident is a powerful force. Many care workers stay in their jobs because they love the people they help. They form strong attachments. They feel a sense of duty to keep their residents safe and happy.
However, relationships with families can be harder. The review found that some workers face bullying or emotional abuse from the families of residents. This is a common reason why people quit. You must support your staff when these problems happen.
To build better relationships, you can:
- Create teams that work with the same residents every day.
- Help staff learn how to talk to families in a professional way.
- Make sure managers step in if a family member is being unfair or mean to a worker.
- Celebrate the small wins that happen between staff and residents.
Organizational Support in Residential Aged Care Facilities
Your organization has a big impact on whether people stay or leave. The rules you set and the way you manage your facility matter. The review found that "organizational factors" are just as important as personal ones.
Workers are more likely to stay in residential aged care facilities that have:
- Enough staff to handle the workload.
- Managers who are easy to talk to.
- Clear rules about what each person should do.
- Help for mental health and stress.
Understaffing is one of the biggest problems. When there are not enough workers, the people who are there get tired. They feel like they cannot give the best care. This makes them feel guilty and stressed. Eventually, they leave. You must try to keep your staffing levels high to prevent this cycle.
The Role of Wages and Job Stability
Money is not the only reason people work, but it is a very big factor. The systematic review found that low wages make it hard to keep staff. If a worker can make the same amount of money at a retail store, they might leave. Retail work is often seen as less stressful than care work.
The research suggests:
- Small pay raises do not always help.
- Large raises make a real difference in turnover.
- Linking pay raises to good performance can help.
- Giving raises based on how long someone has worked at the facility helps too.
Job stability is also necessary. Many workers in this field are on casual contracts. They do not know how many hours they will work each week. This creates a lot of stress. If you can offer permanent roles with steady hours, you will likely see better retention.
Supporting Your Migrant Care Workers
Many facilities rely on migrant care workers. These are people who have moved from other countries to find work. They are often very highly skilled. Some even have nursing degrees from their home countries. However, they often work in low-paid roles while they wait for their new licenses.
Migrant workers face specific challenges:
- Language barriers that make communication hard.
- Discrimination from residents or other staff.
- A lack of understanding of local customs or rules.
- Feeling lonely or isolated in a new country.
You can help by offering cultural training for your whole team. You should also make sure your migrant staff feel welcome. If you have a diverse team, try to pair new migrant workers with peers who speak the same language. This helps them feel less alone. You can also find aged care solutions to help manage a diverse team.
Creating a Safer Workplace to Reduce Turnover
Care work is physically hard. Workers spend a lot of time on their feet. They have to lift and move residents. This leads to many injuries, especially back pain. The review found that older female workers are at the highest risk for these injuries.
When a worker gets hurt, they often have to leave their job. Even if they stay, they might feel that the work is too dangerous. This lowers their intention to stay.
To make your workplace safer:
- Provide the right equipment for lifting and moving residents.
- Give regular training on how to use that equipment.
- Make sure there are enough people on each shift to help with heavy tasks.
- Build a culture where safety is more important than speed.
Training and Career Development as Retention Tools
People want to feel like they are moving forward in their lives. If a job feels like a dead end, they will look for something else. The review found that a lack of career pathways is a major reason for turnover.
Many workers feel they did not get enough training before they started. They feel underprepared for the emotional side of the job, like dealing with death. You can change this by offering better education on-site.
Consider these steps:
- Offer a strong orientation program for all new hires.
- Provide ongoing classes on topics like dementia care and palliative care.
- Create clear paths for promotion.
- Help staff pay for further schooling if they want to become nurses or managers.
When you invest in your staff, they feel valued. They see a future with your organization. This is one of the best ways to improve your aged care worker retention strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main cause of high staff turnover in aged care? There is no single cause. It is usually a mix of heavy workloads, low pay, and feeling disrespected. Stress and the physical demands of the job also play a big part.
How does turnover affect residents? When staff leave, the quality of care goes down. Residents may experience more falls or get sick more often. They also lose the emotional bonds they have with their caregivers.
Do migrant care workers stay longer than local workers? It depends. Migrant workers often stay because they need the work. However, they are more likely to leave if they face discrimination or if they cannot get the hours they need.
What can managers do to help staff stay? Managers should be visible and supportive. They should give praise and listen to concerns. Making sure the facility is well-staffed is the most important thing a manager can do.
Is pay the most important factor for retention? Pay is very important, but it is not everything. People also stay because they love their residents and feel like they belong in their team.
Moving Toward a More Stable Workforce
The challenge of keeping care workers is not going away. As the population ages, the pressure on your facility will grow. You cannot rely on old ways of doing things. You must be proactive in how you treat your team.
Focus on the person, not just the task. This applies to both your residents and your staff. When your workers feel like they are part of a supportive community, they will stay. When they have the tools they need to be safe, they will stay. And when they see that you value their hard work through fair pay and career growth, they will stay.
By focusing on aged care worker retention, you are doing more than just saving money on hiring. You are building a better future for the older adults in your care. Start by looking at your workplace culture today. Ask your staff what they need. Listen to their answers. Small changes can lead to big results for your facility and your team.
