7 Workplace Wellness Strategies for NDIS Carers and Aged Care Operators
Caring for others is demanding, rewarding, and at times emotionally and physically exhausting. Whether you're supporting an NDIS participant in their home, working alone in the field, or managing a retirement village team, promoting health and wellness in the workplace is essential.
For carers and support workers, wellbeing isn't a luxury—it's a necessity. Fatigue, stress, and physical strain can affect not only the carer but also the quality of care provided. For aged care providers and NDIS organisations, workplace wellness is a key pillar in reducing turnover, improving compliance, and enhancing service outcomes.
In this blog:
Here are seven practical strategies tailored for those in the disability and aged care sectors:
1. Create a Culture of Wellness in Your Team
Start from the top: leaders who actively model and promote wellness set the tone for the rest of the team. Encourage open conversations around mental health and fatigue, and ensure staff feel heard and supported.
Hold regular team check-ins to surface wellbeing concerns
Offer mental health support resources (like EAPs)
Recognise and reward healthy behaviours, such as using all entitled breaks or completing wellness training
2. Support Physical Activity in Practical Ways
Carers and support workers are often on their feet, lifting, moving, or travelling between client visits. Prioritising movement and recovery can help prevent long-term physical strain.
Subsidise physio or massage for manual handling staff
Offer mini stretching guides for use between visits
Encourage walking or mobility exercises with clients where appropriate
For residential operators: consider hosting onsite group fitness sessions or installing basic exercise stations.
3. Improve Ergonomics for Carers on the Go
Manual handling injuries and poor ergonomics are common in aged care and disability support.
Provide training on lifting techniques and safe transfer procedures
Equip staff with appropriate mobility aids
Ensure company vehicles are properly maintained and ergonomically set up
Home-based carers should also be supported with assessments of in-home environments to prevent repetitive strain.
4. Make Mental Health Support Ongoing and Visible
Carer burnout and compassion fatigue are real risks. Regular emotional labour takes a toll, especially on lone workers or those managing complex client needs.
Introduce peer support or mentorship programs
Schedule mental health check-ins as part of routine supervision
Run workshops on managing stress, vicarious trauma, and setting boundaries
Encouraging time off and mental health days also helps staff feel safe prioritising their own wellbeing.
Related reading: 30 Tips for Managing Mental Health in the Healthcare Workplace
5. Promote Healthy Eating with On-the-Go Options
Carers often eat on the run, between visits or during late shifts. Poor nutrition leads to energy crashes and lower immunity.
Provide healthy snack packs or vouchers for nutritious meal options
Share recipes and lunchbox ideas via internal newsletters
Ensure shared spaces have access to filtered water, microwaves, and fridges
For NDIS providers, even a small investment in nutrition pays off in staff energy and focus.
6. Support Work-Life Balance with Smarter Scheduling
Irregular hours, shift overruns, and last-minute roster changes can quickly lead to burnout.
Implement digital rostering tools with adequate shift buffers
Minimise back-to-back shifts or double bookings
Avoid contacting staff outside of hours unless essential
Flexible working arrangements, even one day a week, can significantly improve morale and retention.
7. Prioritise Lone Worker Safety and Hygiene
For community carers and lone workers, isolation is a health risk in itself. Add hygiene challenges during mobile shifts, and the risk compounds.
Provide mobile hygiene kits with sanitiser, gloves, and wipes
Conduct regular safety check-ins or require check-in/out protocols
Equip staff with safety tech like personal alarms, fall detectors, or wearable tracking devices
Related reading: 13 Tips for Managing Ill or Injured Workers
Tunstall Supports Safer, Healthier Workplaces
At Tunstall Healthcare, we understand the realities of lone workers and carers. Our personal safety devices, like our lone worker personal alarms, are designed to support staff safety and wellbeing through remote monitoring, fall detection, GPS tracking, and 24/7 emergency alert systems.
Whether you're a frontline worker or managing a team, we’re here to help you create a safer, more supportive environment.
Explore our assistive technologies and discover how they can improve both safety and staff satisfaction.
Further reading: 12 Ways to Manage Workplace Fatigue: Strategies for Healthcare Workers
