People have a love-hate relationship with New Year’s resolutions – they can either hold you accountable for the year ahead or set you up for failure if the resolution is too unattainable.
But as aged care workers face another year of changes and transformation in the sector with many job gaps to fill, making some professional New Year’s resolutions could give you some grounding in this constantly changing climate and set yourself up for success.
Here are our top New Year’s resolutions for aged care workers to ensure you stay fulfilled and content for 2023.
Setting personal professional goals
Being an aged care worker is one of the most valuable and important jobs in are community and with many opportunities and roles available in the sector, you may not know where your career in aged care is going to go next.
Maybe your goal is to move on from carer to an Enrolled Nurse (EN) or you might just have a personal aim to engage with residents more.
Taking time to reflect and make a plan on how you want to tackle 2023 professionally can help give you purpose and direction in your job and bigger life plans.
Have a look back on what you loved in 2022 and what you didn’t love so much, and map out your plan accordingly.
Nailing the balance
We know the importance of work-life balance, particularly in the post-pandemic world we are living in.
Biting off more than you can chew at work can lead to more problems in your personal life than you think.
You may feel obligated to pick up extra shifts when your manager is offering them or you might need to earn some more money as the cost of living rises.
But if you’re not balancing work with other life pleasures and commitments, you may start to feel the effects of overwork, such as fatigue, sleep issues or relationship breakdowns.
Your health is paramount and it is tough to maintain your personal and professional lives when you are dedicating more time to one over the other, but it’s important to work out where to draw the line.
Make sure in 2023 you put yourself first and get your work-life balance in check.
This could include taking on new hobbies, putting time aside for family bonding, or reconnecting with things that are important to you.
Investing in you
With skill shortages compounding on ongoing workforce issues, the aged care sector is in need of qualified workers to fill multiple gaps.
This year, consider investing in yourself and talk to your workplace about upskilling or being taught new skills. It could even mean searching for study and training options you can do in your spare time.
More qualifications or internal training could give you access to different job opportunities within your organisation or the wider sector that may be of interest to you or align with areas you are passionate about.
Investing in yourself and your education may also look like returning to part-time or full-time study to become more qualified.
However you do it, your greatest investment will always be in yourself! So put yourself and your health first this 2023.
What are your professional New Year’s resolutions? Let us know in the comments below.
