Health and social care - everyone matters pulse survey: national report 2020

Well-Being Support 

In the survey staff describe, in their own words, what has most supported their well-being in response to the question "Thinking about your experiences of work over the last 6 months, what is most supporting your well-being?".  

The word-cloud below shows the 250 words most used by staff in response to this question (the larger the word, the more times it was mentioned), reflecting the areas of support staff had at the time of completing the survey in September 2020. Details of the COVID-19 situation at that time are contained in Appendix 8.

In total 64,334 staff provided a response to this question (77% of those responding to the survey). Comments have been grouped into similar themes through a process of manual and machine coding (see Appendix 7 for further information). Sources of support for staff have been divided into those that relate to the work environment and those outside of work.

Work Related Support

The support of colleagues and the teams staff work within are the most commented on work-related sources of support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Line managers have been highlighted by many staff as a source of support.

Some staff refer to the positive support that comes from being able to work through the COVID-19 pandemic. There are contrasting views around place of work with some finding support through going to the workplace and others benefiting from being able to work from home. These themes are explored in more detail in the following chapters of this report.

Personal Support

Staff are largely supported by family and friends with various forms of exercise and relaxation also important. Some staff talk of making use of self-help techniques and their own resilience, whilst others have turned to professional support.