Twin peaks: When seasonal stress hits aged care the hardest

Aged care workers across Australia are under the most pressure in the months of June and December according to new insights from SuperFriend. 

Its latest Indicators of a Thriving Workplace report has also revealed the Thriving Workplace ranking for the health care and social assistance sector has decreased since 2023 to leave it languishing in 16th place out of 19 different industries. 

Key points

• Indicators of a Thriving Workplace is the nation’s most comprehensive workplace mental health survey, offering fresh insights into workplace mental health across 19 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) industries
• Health care and social assistance industry workers experience two psychological distress peaks: June, which is driven by EOFY activities, seasonal sickness and high workloads, while peak burnout in December relates to end of year deadlines, inappropriate workloads and leave absences
• Health care and social assistance also recorded a below-average Thriving Workplace score of 67.7, placing the industry behind retail trade and just ahead of education and training 
• Emotional exhaustion is an ongoing crisis in aged care, as workers struggle with secondary trauma experienced through empathic engagement, leading to fatigue, compassion fatigue, and an increased risk of burnout

With more than 13,300 workers surveyed across 2024, this latest data confirms that stress and burnout in aged care follow distinct seasonal patterns, driven by overwhelming workloads, emotional exhaustion, and systemic workforce shortages. 

The findings underscore the need for proactive, industry-specific solutions to safeguard the mental health of Australia’s aged care workforce.

SuperFriend Chief Executive Officer Darren Black stressed the importance of industry-specific mental health strategies. 

“Workplace challenges don’t follow an annual schedule, so our surveys shouldn’t either. By moving to seasonal data collection, we’re giving organisations and industries a more contemporary view of mental health in the work environment, enabling them to intervene and support employees when and where it’s needed most,” he said. 

Seasonal aged care trends

Breaking down the data, SuperFriend assessed five domains of a thriving workplace: Connectedness, safety, leadership, work design and capability. 

All domains remained relatively steady across 2024 for health care and social assistance with connectedness the strongest performer throughout all seasons with an average score of 76 out of 100.

Unfortunately, work design and capability traded bottom spot with work design scores dropping in the second half of the year while capability increased, potentially due to ongoing training and development. 

Leadership was another domain that experienced a second-half drop, scoring just 65 in December. This drop, alongside work design, correlates with a rise in the number of workers reporting an inappropriate workload. 

The aged care sector experiences its highest levels of workplace stress at year-end, with 49% of workers reporting unmanageable workloads. The national average was 40.9%. The combination of staffing shortages, holiday-related demands, and increased care needs places a heavy burden on frontline workers.

A health professional working at a large private hospital highlighted the issue when they said, “Hospitals always go into low staff and procedures over the Christmas break so there is a real rush to get things done before the slow period.”

On a positive note, industry workers are more comfortable discussing mental health at work, with 36% disclosing their mental health condition compared to 30.2% nationally. The percentage of staff seeking support in response to high psychological distress is also slightly higher than the national average.

One in ten are comfortable going directly to their manager, 19% look for professional help outside of the workplace and 13.6% seek support from co-workers.

Unfortunately, health care and social assistance workers continue to report higher instances of bullying, harassment, discrimination or violence with one in three stating they had at least one harmful experience in the last 12 months. Additionally, 9.3% reported secondary trauma from patient/resident interactions.

A call for industry-wide change

With aged care workers disproportionately affected by workplace stress, SuperFriend urges policymakers, industry leaders, and employers to prioritise targeted mental health initiatives. Strategies such as increased staffing support, improved access to mental health resources, and workplace flexibility can significantly reduce burnout and improve retention rates.

SuperFriend Chief Research Officer Ross Iles highlighted why this seasonal data is important when addressing workplace stress. 

“For the first time, we can confirm what many have suspected – workplace stress follows predictable patterns. With this data, organisations can shift from reactive, one-off initiatives to proactive, year-round interventions tailored to industry-specific needs.”

Click here to access the new 2024 Indicators of a Thriving Workplace Key Insights report.