Nursery World - Staff Health & Wellbeing: Part 5

How can settings support staff experiencing relationship, money or parenthood problems, asks Charlotte Goddard

The early years profession can be stressful, but nursery workers may also find stress from their personal lives impacting their wellbeing in the workplace. While we are told not to mix personal and professional lives, inevitably they will impact on each other. Anxiety about personal problems may prevent practitioners from giving their all to the children in their care, so it makes sense for employers to provide support.

Low incomes

Childcare is notoriously badly paid, and Nursery Worldresearch undertaken in 2019 found that more than one in ten practitioners live in poverty. The University of Essex’s Understanding Society study found that people with the lowest incomes are most likely to say they have no, or only one, close friend. Couples with lower incomes are more likely to report a distressed relationship, meaning they often consider divorce, regret living together or quarrel. In turn, relationship breakdown can increase the risk of poverty for both children and adults.

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