As the son of an STNA (State Tested Nursing Assistant), I watched my mother go to work and come home from work each and every day, a little more tired and worn out than the day before. Those days turned into 30 years and the physical toll they took on my mother was only matched by the emotional labor she put into her career, caring for seniors in a skilled nursing community.
All types of care involve emotional labor, whether it is provided in a nursing home, assisted living community, hospital, home health or hospice. Building trust, ensuring comfort, and understanding each care-recipient’s individual and unique needs can be emotionally taxing. Delivering high quality care involves emotional labor which can be associated with stress, or putting on a performance, meaning they must mask their true feelings during difficult caregiving experiences.
The heaviest caregiving tasks fall upon nursing assistants, especially in senior care. They provide the bulk of personal care and emotional labor that seniors need. Many nursing assistants refer to the deep emotional bonds they have developed with their care-recipients, of which they place a high value. The very same emotional bonds which bring them joy may also be sources of emotional pain, as seniors continue to decline and eventually die.
Emotional labor can intensify when nursing assistants provide care to seniors who have mental health issues or neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. At times, these seniors can become aggressive, combative, demeaning and verbally abusive. Others are confused, disoriented and providing good care to them becomes difficult. Good nursing assistants will carry on, delivering high quality care and putting their resident’s needs above their own.
On the other hand, the emotional work nursing assistants put into their care can also bring them great satisfaction and meaning. Some nursing assistants say that the seniors they provide care for are really their family. And, when family members provide positive feedback to nursing assistants, they receive even more job satisfaction.
The take-away from this is that nursing assistants work hard, both physically and emotionally. It is easier to see how hard they work, from the administration’s point of view, but never forget the emotional side of their work. It may be as important if not more to their well-being and job satisfaction.