The ‘We’ In Wellbeing

To celebrate World Wellbeing Week, we talked to four of our Bluebirds about how they apply the five steps to wellbeing on a daily basis.

It’s World Wellbeing Week from 21st-30th June, so we thought this was the perfect time to talk to our Bluebirds about what wellbeing means for them, and how it impacts their work lives on a daily basis.

The five steps to wellbeing

There are five steps to wellbeing, recognised and used by everyone from mental health charity Mind to the NHS as being key to coping with mental health issues. They are:

• Connect
• Get active
• Be mindful
• Keep learning
• Give to others

We spoke to four of our team about how they apply each of these aspects in their day to day as home carers.

Connect

“It’s really important to connect with customers,” says Kirsty, who’s been a Bluebird Care Assistant for 11 months now. “I, try to understand and be as compassionate as possible.”

“To me, that means building a good relationship by showing an interest in them; spending time where possible to talk to them about their lives. Basically, I connect with them by caring and showing I have an interest in them. They always appreciate it!”

Get active

“I encourage customers to move regularly” says Debi, a Home Care Assistant who’s been with us for four and a half years. “We have one lady who does regular exercises and I always admire her for the way she looks after herself. It really seems to help her and it made me realise the importance of being active for myself too!”

“I try to encourage specific customers to get out for a short walk,” echoes Kirsty. It might be to a particular spot near their home or to a bench they once used to sit at. Just getting them out for a little bit of exercise and to a place where we can sit and talk about memories they had of that spot… it not only encourages them to be active, but also makes the customer feel happier, too.”

Be mindful

To Theresa, who’s been a Bluebird for five years now, being mindful means being tuned in to her customer’s feelings.

“Sometimes when I arrive at someone’s house I can tell they’ve had a bad day and are feeling sad,” she says. “So, if I get the sense they need to, I ask them some questions and let them talk – even have a bit of a cry if needed. They often feel loads better afterwards.”

“You can be aware if a customer is unhappy or feels left out,” adds Debi. “It’s something you tend to get better at the longer you’re in the role, and it makes you more sensitive to people’s feelings in your personal life too.”

Kirsty nods, then adds: “If I notice a customer isn’t so happy I’ll sit with them listen and understand why. Most of our customers are on their own for such a long time so being able to sit and talk to them really does mean quite a bit to them. Life can be lonely on your own for anyone!”

Keep learning

“I do as much as I can to ensure I’m up to date with new information on my e-learning” says Debi, referring to our online learning portal.

Michele, who’s been with  Bluebird care for two-and-a-half years now, and worked in care for over 28 years, also mentions e-learning, before going on to say: “I make sure to stay up to date on my practical care skills too, whether that’s by reflecting on new things I learned with a customer or by learning from other carers. I also think it’s important that our customers keep learning too, so I’m always encouraging them to take up new hobbies to keep them young inside!”

Give to others

“Recently I had a customer who was struggling to fill in her census form,” says Theresa. “Everyone has to complete it, so she was getting quite worried about the idea she wouldn’t be able to. In the end. we sat and did it together which was a big relief for her!”

Kirsty, meanwhile, gives two great examples of giving to others:

“I have a lovely customer who is so proud of her roses and her garden but unable to water them. Every day for a week I’ve offered to water them and she’s so happy with how beautiful they are now they’ve blossomed. It’s really made her happy to have part of her garden looking pretty. 

“I also often offer to wash my customers hair where possible. One particular customer who we provide personal care to just loves her hair being done, so she’s always so happy when I say ‘shall we get your hair done now!’”

Do you have a caring nature?

We’re always on the lookout for kind, compassionate people who can make a difference to people’s wellbeing. If you think life as a carer would suit you, get in touch or visit our careers page to see how becoming a Bluebird could change your life, and those of the people you care about.