Work is a healthy part of everyday life: it gives us a sense of pride and satisfaction and also provides a place for us to mix with and interact with people from all walks of life.
Disability support work is no different. Support workers will work with different people with various disabilities and support requirements. And while disability support work is a rewarding career, it poses unique challenges, including burnout, stress, and mental and emotional exhaustion.
The 2021 NDIS Workforce Retention survey found that 43% of workers feel burned out at least half the time in their jobs—and at least 45,900 workers leave the disability workforce each year.
And that presents quite a predicament for the disability sector. In 2021, the NDIS projected the number of participants (people with disability requiring supports) to grow to around 500,000 by 2024. That figure ballooned: by March 2023, the number of NDIS participants had risen to 592,059 participants.
This means disability service providers and the disability sector as a whole are looking for more support workers to meet demand.
But how can we reduce employee turnover? By fostering better work-life balance.
Work-life balance involves managing the demands of work and family/personal life. It means having clear lines between work and home life so that we can focus on different aspects of our lives.
The 2021 NDIS survey found that 43% of support workers' main reason for leaving their roles was a high and demanding workload.
The biggest demands support workers face include:
Where this happens, support workers can often feel stressed and burned out.
Both disability support workers and service providers (i.e. managers, supervisors, and employers) can take steps to promote a healthier work-life balance.
Disability support workers play an essential role in providing the supports that people with disability need.
But with the number of people requiring supports increasing and the demands of support work, it’s more important than ever for support workers to look after themselves and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
In doing so, they can continue to serve people with disability and make a positive impact on the community.
In a strategic move to manage its rapid expansion, Pickleball Australia has partnered with etrainu to support its growing popularity and standardised learning pathways.
Classification in Parasports is a process that ensures fair competition by grouping athletes with similar impairments together. Athletes must be evaluated and assigned a Sport Class and Sport Class Status to compete.
In anticipation of the Paralympic Games, we were interested in exploring why participation rates remain low and how people with disability participate in specific sports.