The link between facility maintenance and work stress/satisfaction in residential aged care

Currently in many developed countries populations are ageing due to a number and combination of circumstances. Residential aged care (RAC)provides a role in addressing the associated need to care for ageing people but the potential for increased demand means RAC providers must look to further efficiencies for sustainability. The care team provides hands on care in RAC and work stress/satisfaction within the care team can be affected by the quality of care and directly impacts the resident's quality of life. The work stress/satisfaction within the care team can also be affected by the built environment. Appropriate design of the built environment can optimise work stress/satisfaction and this paper will propose that maintenance of that environment can also have an impact. This paper will report on a previous study comprising semi structured interviews with care team members and management representatives from a multi case study comprising a number of RAC facilities. Content analysis was carried out on interview scripts. The study revealed facility maintenance was not only important to preserve an asset and reduce hazards, it also revealed facility maintenance to have a bearing on a number of factors which impacted the care team's work stress/satisfaction. This paper will suggest that strategies to improve perceived control of facility maintenance may increase a view of self-worth and go towards optimisation of work stress/satisfaction amongst the care team thus promoting a level of social sustainability.