Today we are going to bring you mini interviews with three more of our carers and share why they enjoy their work as home carers so much.
Meeting People
Charlotte started working for Comfort Keepers three years ago and works three days a week. She used to work in childcare and then cared for her mother for two years. She decided to train to work as a professional home carer when Comfort Keepers was recommended to her by another employee.
Charlotte’s three favourite reasons for working in home care are:
- She enjoys meeting people and getting to know her clients well
- When she meets her clients, she puts herself in their shoes and treats them as she would like to be treated. She likes listening to their stories from the past too.
- There’s great camaraderie and support from the office staff and when she has time, she occasionally attends the social events.
Charlotte also enjoys the flexibility as she can work part-time and enjoys meeting so many different people during the course of a working day. She finds she has plenty of work and if she wishes to work full-time, she knows there is work there for her.
Trust and Cameraderie
Samantha has worked for Comfort Keepers for two years. Previously to starting work as a home carer, she was an office worker and has now completed her Fetac 5, doing it while working full-time with Comfort Keepers. She chose to apply for Comfort Keepers knowing she could do the training while working.
Samantha’s top three reasons for working as a home carer are:
- Enjoys the challenge
- Likes the fact that she is trusted to work on her own initiative
- She enjoys looking after elderly people
Samantha said the toughest aspect of the job is when a client passes away. She says when you are caring for a person for a number of years and seeing them numerous times a week, you do become so fond of them that it is like a family bereavement. She has availed of the bereavement counselling provided by Comfort Keepers and found it helped immensely but it still takes some time to adjust.
Job Satisfaction
Fergus has been working for Comfort Keepers for three years. He finds that people are often surprised when he tells them he is a carer as they expect all carers to be female. He says that his clients (all men) like having a male carer – both in terms of getting assistance when showering but also for having a banter and a laugh. Glenn was a carpenter by trade and lost his job when the recession hit. He cared for a family member for some time before deciding to train as a professional home carer.
His top three reasons for working as a home carer are:
- Immense job satisfaction
- Meeting so many different people during the course of the working day
- Seeing clients smile when he walks in the door.
There you have it – 9 reasons why three carers love their jobs. Next week we will be bringing you the names of the seventeen contenders for our 2015 Carer of the Year award. We have seventeen offices and there will be one winner from each office, representing his/her office. Following more judging, those seventeen will be reduced to four finalists and the winner is going to be announced in November. Over the next few weeks, we are going to interview each one so you can get to know our carers better.
Home Help Jobs
If you would like to work for Comfort Keepers as a home carer, and perhaps represent your office in the 2016 Carer of the Year Awards, do check out our Careers Vacancies page as we have a number of home care vacancies at the moment, there just might be some in your area.
