The Covid-19 pandemic has injected new stress and fear into senior living workers’ lives, and this has prompted some providers to implement new strategies in order to retain them.
Flexible scheduling, higher pay, free meals and other services were not standard fare in the senior living industry before the pandemic, but providers now wield these tools with greater frequency as they seek to stay ahead of staffing shortages. Much of that has to do with the fact that senior living employees are experiencing far more mental stress than they were just seven months ago, according to Lisa Fordyce, an executive vice president at OnShift.