Worker wants to leave care home due to low pay, says she's not alone

Emma Yung, 27, says her love for her precious oma led her to volunteer with seniors as a teenager.

She then went on to a Red River College course that helped her land a job as a recreational facilitator in a personal care home in Winnipeg. It's work, she says, that is important, that she is good at, and that she loves.

"It's so rewarding. Making people happy is probably one of the best joys you get working in a care home. Being there for them when their family can't visit as much and making them smile and laugh is so worth it," said Yung.

Yung, who specialized in working with patients with dementia, managed to get hired on full-time when she took over a one-year maternity leave. But then she was bumped down to part-time. Paying rent and maintaining a car didn't leave much to put into a savings account to plan for the future.

We are considered essential but not paid like it. This has to be addressed.- Emma Yung

"You are taking care of people — it's an important and challenging job. You should at least be able to make a living off of it and not have to work two or three jobs to support yourself. It makes you feel a little undervalued," she said. 

Now, she's looking for a new career — possibly administrative work in an office, which is more structured and full-time.

"It's frustrating and sad to leave. But I was always looking at how I could earn more money on the side, where I could start saving for my future. I realized working in this field was not the best option any more."

To keep staff, pay living wages: prof

David Camfield, an associate professor of labour studies and sociology at the University of Manitoba, says Yung's story highlights a major gap.

"It zeroes in on the gap between important caregiving work, which is often done by women, and the way it is compensated," said Camfield.

If an employer wants to keep staff, the only way to do that is with living wages, he says.

Last year, Yung said she made less than $25,000 before taxes. Those are low wages, she says, for a job that is demanding physically and mentally, and took its toll on her.

"You have to be very patient. People with dementia can ask you the same thing 20 to 40 times a day. A lot of it is about remaining calm and composed, letting them know everything is OK," she said.

"Then you get close to so many of them, and then they die or move away. You need good support at work and at home."

Yung points out workers in personal care homes are considered essential. She says that has never been more evident than during the pandemic, as horrifying stories about neglect and mistreatment of seniors have continued to surface.

"We are considered essential but not paid like it. This has to be addressed. What we saw during COVID is who our essential workers are and they need to be appreciated more," said Yung.

Not alone in leaving the field

Yung says she is not alone in thinking about leaving the field. She has kept in touch with her college classmates. Only four or five of them are still working as recreational workers in care homes.

Others have moved on to full-time work in other careers and better wages.

Yung is hoping COVID will be a catalyst for changing the way the elderly are cared for, and how the people who care for them are paid. 

"One day, you will be there. We all will. Don't you want to be in a place where the employees are happy to be there?"

With the number of people diagnosed with dementia expected to skyrocket, said Yung, "we need to invest more now in workers and facilities."

Camfield agress, and says the only solution is significant public investment.

That means more money for providing services for the elderly from government money, and support for adequate services — and adequate working conditions for the people who deliver those services.

"There were so many examples during the pandemic of people thanked and treated as heroes," said Camfield. 

"But that can just end up being empty rhetoric if it is not translated into meaningful changes in the workplace."