Live-In Care Worker Jobs: What You Need to Know
Live-in Care Worker jobs are rewarding, inspiring, and make a genuine difference to people’s lives.
A lifeline for service users, and a highly rewarding career, live-in care worker jobs require friendliness, compassion, and dedication. Sound like you?
Working as a live-in carer is very rewarding. My normal day to day is just as a care worker would do, personal care and support. It's great to care for someone in the comfort of their own home and with round the clock care, I still get regular breaks, time off and my own space.
What is a Live-in Care Worker?
As the name suggests, a live-in care worker stays with a person in their home, offering round-the-clock support with a variety of tasks, ranging from household chores to personal care.
Essentially, the purpose of live-in care worker jobs is to support people to live as independently as possible; lightening the load when it becomes too heavy.
So, as you can imagine, it’s a role rooted in companionship. Live-in care workers form close bonds with the people they support; bonds that often last for years.
And, while each person will require support tailored to their individual needs, there are a number of core responsibilities that all live-in care workers will undertake at some point or another. They include:
Personal care tasks
Including dressing, bathing and toileting.
Cooking, nutrition and meal preparation
Cooking, nutrition and meal preparation.
Medication management
Prompting service users to take any medication when required.
Getting out and about
For essential appointments or errands and social events.
Household maintenance
Helping to keep the house clean, safe and comfortable.
Mobility and safety
Helping to keep a service user mobile, safe and comfortable at home.
But, above all else, it’s a person-centred role, and important to be understanding, compassionate, and genuinely interested in people. Whether it’s reminiscing over a coffee or sharing a laugh at the breakfast table, being a live-in care worker means you’ll become an essential part of someone’s life.
Characteristics of a Live-in Care Worker
There are few jobs quite like being a live-in care worker. It’s uplifting yet challenging, inspiring yet demanding,
Care workers need to be a friend and confidant; able to understand how best to support someone through potentially difficult times. A live-in care worker is responsible for someone’s physical and emotional wellbeing; offering them the kind of care and compassion they’d expect for themselves.
As such, it requires a special kind of person. And while everyone has different strengths, live-in care workers often possess the following qualities:
Compassion | Friendliness | Reliability | Confidence | Respect
Truly, being a live-in care worker is more than just a job. It’s an opportunity to have a positive impact on someone else’s life. And it’s a two-way street, as noted by care worker at Abbots Care, who said:
Work-life balance as a Live-In Carer Worker
There’s a common misconception that it’s difficult to strike a positive work-life balance as a live-in care worker, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
This misunderstanding likely stems from the fact that live-in care workers, well… live with their service users, meaning they’re on-hand 24/7, but, in reality, live-in care workers often maintain flexible shift patterns, and are entitled to two hours’ time off per day, which can be spent away from their service user’s home, resting, and engaging in personal activities.
At Abbots Care, we value the health and wellbeing of our staff, so many of our care workers choose to work weeks at a time, allowing them to take a couple of weeks off. Think of it as… an extended type of shift work. (And that two hours’ downtime still counts!)
Live-in care worker jobs are satisfying and inspiring, making a significant difference to people’s lives in a way that most other jobs can only dream of.
Truly, these one-of-a-kind jobs require one-of-a-kind people, so if you’re interested in learning more, head to our careers section to learn more about joining the Abbots Care family.
Alternatively, if you want to find out more about our live-in care services, home care services or respite services, give us a call on 0330 094 5511 to discuss your options, or contact our recruitment team today.
I didn’t think being a live-in carer would be for me, but I was wrong. I really enjoyed getting to know the service users and becoming someone they can trust and rely on. Seeing service users smile, and knowing they feel comfortable each day makes me job so worthwhile. I feel valued!
What is it like being a Live-in Care worker?
Being a live-in carer is a rewarding career to follow. In this role, you’ll provide personal care, help people with day-to-day household chores, and support them with completing errands and other life tasks. But what does a live-in carer do every day? And what is it like being a home carer? Our live-in carer job description provides you with all the insights you need to know before exploring a new career, or before signing up for live-in care services.