I was absolutely wrong. Perhaps it was my African upbringing, where caring for family and respecting elders was simply part of life, but I thought I understood what working in care would involve.
I Was Absolutely Wrong. Nothing Prepared Me for Working in Care.
By Jordan Johns | Founder, Fresh Joy Care Suite
I was absolutely wrong.
Perhaps it was my African upbringing, where caring for family and respecting elders was simply part of life, but I thought I understood what working in care would involve.
I didn't.
Care was the most difficult job I have ever done.
I remember the night shifts, the exhaustion and dropping my phone countless times because I was so tired.
But the physical demands were only part of it.
The emotional weight was something else.
Sometimes you weren't just a care worker. You were someone's connection to the outside world. The person they spoke to, laughed with or depended on.
It made me question everything.
Life. Ageing. Dignity. Loneliness. Death.
And then there was another reality.
Sometimes a genuine act of kindness could cross a professional boundary and put your job at risk.
Such is life.
But it left me asking questions.
Why was communication between shifts so difficult? Why could important information get lost? Why was so much time spent on administration when people needed care?
Those experiences eventually helped inspire Fresh Joy Care Suite.
We are developing technology to make on-call management, shift handovers, recruitment, communication and CQC compliance easier for care providers.
Not to replace human connection.
But to help protect it.
As a husband, father of two and founder, I look back on those difficult shifts with a different perspective.
They taught me something no business course could.
Before you build a solution, you need to understand the people living with the problem.
I was absolutely wrong about what I was getting into.
But perhaps that experience was exactly what I needed.
Jordan Johns
Founder, Fresh Joy Care Suite
www.getcaresuite.co.uk