Staff Stress and Morale in Community‐Based Settings for People with Intellectual Disabilities and Challenging Behaviour: A Brief Report

Abstract

Background There are no studies that have compared outcomes for staff in different types of supported accommodation for people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour. This study looked at stress, morale and intended job turnover in staff in two types of community-based residential supports: non-congregate settings where the minority of residents have challenging behaviour; and congregate settings where the majority of residents have challenging behaviour. Materials and methods A self-completion survey questionnaire was used to collect information on the basic characteristics of staff, levels of staff stress, job satisfaction and propensity to leave their employment. Results One hundred and fifty-seven questionnaires were returned from staff, the majority of whom were on fixed-term contracts. Congregate settings were not associated with higher levels of stress as might be assumed.Overall, over a quarter of staff reached criterion on the General Health Questionnaire-12 for experiencing emotional distress, and over a third were likely to actively seek new employment in the next year. The greatest perceived sources of stress were lack of resources and lack of staff support. The lowest level of satisfaction was with the rate of pay. Those in non-congregate settings reported greater perceived stress because of lack of procedures to deal with challenging behaviour. Conclusions High levels of intended staff turnover may be more due to job insecurity and lack of support than service user challenging behaviour. Employers seeking to reduce turnover should pay attention to basic pay and conditions, as well as staff training in appropriate methods for dealing with challenging behaviour.

‘It’s a matter of your personality more than anything else’

“…The perception of the participants' role as a seasonal worker was an important factor which was explored in the study due to the limited research in the area of temporary work, when compared with family and full-time carers (Robertson et al, 2005;Shah et al, 2010). The emphasis on the importance of a suitable coping style to avoid negative consequences described by seasonal workers is in line with previous research based on family carers (Shah et al, 2010).…”

“…People placed in residential care settings are likely to be given excessive anti-psychotic drugs as a management strategy of behaviour that challenges (Matson and 7 for example, caregivers of children with a neurodevelopmental disorder (such as epilepsy or cerebral palsy) who also exhibited challenging behaviour were less likely to report good health and reported more conditions such as migraines, arthritis and asthma compared with carers of children with neither neurodevelopmental disorders nor challenging behaviour (Lach et al, 2009). Similarly the outcomes for employed full-time carers who work with individuals with challenging behaviour also need to be considered; over a quarter of full-time staff working with individuals with challenging behaviour met criteria for experiencing emotional distress (Robertson et al, 2005). The greatest perceived sources of stress were a lack of staff support and a lack of resources (Robertson et al, 2005).…”

“…Similarly the outcomes for employed full-time carers who work with individuals with challenging behaviour also need to be considered; over a quarter of full-time staff working with individuals with challenging behaviour met criteria for experiencing emotional distress (Robertson et al, 2005). The greatest perceived sources of stress were a lack of staff support and a lack of resources (Robertson et al, 2005). However it has been found that carers working in settings where behaviour that challenged was less common reported greater levels of stress compared with carers working in settings where incidents of challenging behaviour were more frequent (Robertson et al, 2005); possibly due to a higher expectation and awareness of challenging behaviour occurring, resulting in better coping methods and procedures compared with carers having a minority of incidents of challenging behaviours.…”

Occupational Burdens in Special Educators Working With Intellectually Disabled Students

“…Według Robertsona i wsp. dotyczy to 25% tych osób (12), natomiast według Hattona i wsp. (14) -32,5%.…”

“…(10), ma odniesienie również do działań w zakresie promocji zdrowia i troski o zdrowie podopiecznych. Negatywne konsekwencje stresu zawodowego dotyczą więc nie tylko samych pracowników, ale również mają znaczenie dla jakości sprawowanej opieki (11,12), co w szerszym kontekście wpływa na funkcjonowanie całej placówki.…”