Female caregivers are so important, yet their work is often dismissed

It can be easy to forget how sheltered many of us are while growing up, with the preconceived notion that we follow a simple trajectory of school to university to work.

One of my closest friends took an admirable leap by deciding to work part-time at an epilepsy society alongside her studies, and she’s conveyed how fulfilling the job of a care worker can be. Rebecca-Jayne and I have practically been inseparable since we were toddlers, and with such close friends, you can become as invested in their lives and decisions almost as much as your own.

Times of less stress and very questionable headgear.

I’ve seen how she’s surprised herself at how adept she is at taking care of people, and how it’s brought an incredible sense of awareness about mental health to her and those around her. The demand for willing workers in this sector has been especially acute amidst the political turmoil of this year, and  I have hardly ever been prouder to call someone my friend who has volunteered her time and energy into such an important, yet frequently overlooked, field.

“I know I am most happy working in a field that I enjoy, and also one that I feel is helping others in some way. Working in care obviously involves helping others but it also includes a great deal of variety which means no day is alike. Another large pull factor for working in the care sector is that generally, those who work in it are incredibly caring people, meaning I am surrounded by kind and empathetic staff. While you don’t have to like the people you work with, I believe, how you get on with your colleagues makes a big difference to how happy you are to go into work everyday, especially when working in a close-knit team.

So many people do not want to work in this sector for a vast range of reasons, from poor wages to not wanting to ‘wipe people’s bottoms,’ as I have sadly heard it put. Given the reaction to the recent referendum that has taken place in the UK, it seems particularly important to mention that there are a huge amount of European, African and Asian people happily working in this sector, filling the jobs that most British people don’t seem to want to do.”

Rebecca-Jayne stresses that the overall reward of the job is knowing that she is contributing to the livelihood of someone else, a trait I have always admired in her. Last summer, I saw her the day after she crashed her car rushing a friend’s sick cat to the vet in the middle of the night, which speaks for itself.

“You know that you are helping people to live their lives, which in a way makes every day a good one, but a really good day is one when you know you have helped someone to fulfill something they have always wanted to do and makes them very happy. That in itself is all the reward I, as a care worker, could ask for. A bad day is one during which you do everything you possibly can, but for whatever reason, you just can’t help someone, whether due to the individual not wanting help or extenuating circumstances. Those days can be really frustrating and sometimes upsetting, but an inevitable part of the job.”

There also comes the question of what’s the most challenging aspect, of which there are many.

“When I started the job I was incredibly nervous,” she admitted. “I had very little idea of what to expect and the level of illness I would be dealing with. There are certain parts of the job such as personal care – that I cannot go into detail about for confidentiality reasons – that aren’t what you would call ‘pleasant.’ It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I would have to be in these less pleasant situations that I would probably never find myself in, had I not done this job. However, this has improved as I have become used to them and now wouldn’t think twice about these things.”

Rebecca-Jayne has been a care worker for almost two years, and I wondered how much it would change her over time, as it seems like the kind of work that could make or break someone.

“I’ve definitely had to become less squeamish. Being somewhat OCD and germaphobic, it’s safe to say it took me out of my comfort zone and made me learn to deal with situations that once upon a time, I would have avoided at virtually all costs. It’s also opened my eyes up to how people have to live with life changing conditions, something that I am ashamed to admit that I would have never considered if I hadn’t entered into this field. For this reason, it’s been a really important experience for me and definitely added to my awareness of the life that people with disabilities live, and made me appreciate how lucky I am to simply be able to take care of myself, day to day.”

She was quick to add that jobs in the care sector definitely promote self-growth, and recommended even a short stint. However, she stressed that it does require a bit of self-assessment beforehand.

“If you’re serious about this kind of work, I would say you need to ask yourself if you are empathetic and caring. If you have these two qualities, then the rest will follow naturally. It’s natural to enter into anything with a certain amount of trepidation, but try not to get caught up on the ‘what if’s. You get used to it. I almost didn’t take the job because I wasn’t sure I would be able to wash people, let alone handle other aspects of personal care that I hadn’t yet considered. It wasn’t easy at first, but now it has become normal and just part of the job.”

Then there’s the ultimate question: what needs to improve, aside from the general lack of staff, in this sector? Rebecca-Jayne has always championed for the eradication of stigma surrounding mental health, as it plays such a large part in everyone’s lives, whether institutionalized or not.

“I’ve heard so many people say they do not want to work with people with these issues. This stigma is decreasing, somewhat, but it would be wrong to say it’s completely gone, and although people have become more accepting of certain issues like depression and anxiety, other concerns like behavioral problems and psychosis are still not commonly accepted. I find when we take our residents out, the public tends to stare at people with physical and mental disabilities. I don’t think it’s because people are inherently rude, so much as they just never, or rarely, think about or see people in these situations if they haven’t dealt with it firsthand.”

The issue of money is also a major roadblock in many people’s road to recovery. Lack of funding, or money not going to the right places, was the subject of a huge public outcry during the UK EU membership referendum, when Nigel Farage, former leader of the UK Independence Party, admitted that one of his pro-Brexit campaign promises, which claimed that the money sent to the EU (£300 million) would go towards Britain’s National Health Service, was entirely fabricated (among others).

“Funding is a constant struggle for many residents. Care homes are notoriously expensive, particularly specialist care homes, and so many require help with expenses. The bare minimum is usually given, meaning that only the bare minimum can be provided, which can be frustrating and make things harder. But funding is lacking for so many things in the world right now. It is not easy to acquire the necessary funding, and keeping it coming in annually is no easier – paperwork needs to be up to date, documents need to be archived and ready to show to the funding authorities when required, and regular meetings have to happen, just to name the basics. However, it is important that budgets are carefully monitored to prevent people taking advantage of the system, and claiming funding and benefits that they’re not entitled to. So while the lengths people have to go to to attain funding can be seen in a negative light, the protection they provide can also be seen as a positive. That being said, hopefully one day, a larger amount of funding will be available to those that need it.”