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Sustainable staff well-being within older adult mental health.
- Source :
-
Mental Health Review Journal . 2015, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p92-104. 13p. - Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how staff attend to their well-being when working in an inpatient mental health setting with older adults with dementia and complex mental health needs; how staff understand the link between their well-being and the well-being of patients. Design/methodology/approach – A semi-structured group interview was held with 11 members of two multidisciplinary teams. The discussion was audio-recorded and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings – Staff reported managing their well-being by both connecting with and avoiding the difficult emotions of the work. The team avoided the gravity of the work through humour, a task-focus, an absence of thinking and the displacement of workplace frustrations onto an outgroup. Connecting with emotions was done in tolerable ways: in contained reflective spaces, in the presence of supportive others, through genuine connections with patients as people and when the organisation demonstrated care for the staff. Practical implications – Avoidant strategies appeared to represent short-term ways of maintaining staff well-being, while connecting with the gravity of the work appeared to represent what we hope is a more sustainable approach to managing well-being. A crucial premise for staff well-being is teams embedded within organisations that care for their employees. Originality/value – Poor staff well-being can have serious consequences for an organisation, particularly in the existentially challenging environment of dementia care. This study offers a unique opportunity to explore staff well-being in a UK inpatient mental health setting with older adults with dementia and complex mental health needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 13619322
- Volume :
- 20
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Mental Health Review Journal
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 102927352
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1108/MHRJ-08-2014-0027