How to Support Colleagues Through Tough Shifts
When we think of “tough shifts” in care, most people imagine short staffing — the days when you’re covering extra people, rearranging rotas, stretching breaks, and trying to be everywhere at once.
But the truth is this:
Tough shifts are rarely just about staffing.
They’re tough because care is emotional, unpredictable, relational, demanding — and deeply human.
And thankfully, most care providers do maintain safe, effective and responsive staffing. When business disruptions happen, teams rise to the challenge — as they always have. But the weight of a shift is often shaped by something else entirely.
Let’s talk honestly about how to support each other on the tough days — the ones you don’t always see coming.
💛 1. Recognise when the shift is heavy for emotional reasons
Some of the hardest shifts in care happen when the job touches your heart in difficult ways:
✔ When someone passes away
A resident, a patient, a child, a client.
Even when expected, loss hits deeply.
Care isn’t a transaction — it’s relationships.
✔ When someone you support receives difficult news
A cancer diagnosis.
A serious decline.
A frightening behavioural escalation.
You don’t just observe these moments — you feel them.
✔ When a family member is distressed
Emotional families aren’t “difficult”.
They’re scared, grieving, worried, overwhelmed — and you absorb that emotional load.
These moments leave a mark, even on the strongest carers.
💛 2. Acknowledge the tough operational shifts too
Some shifts feel heavy not because of emotion, but because of complexity, responsibility or sheer workload.
Examples carers will instantly recognise:
✔ Checking in medication for 100+ residents
Requiring attention, accuracy, concentration — and zero room for error.
✔ A hospital ward handover when everything changes at once
Admissions, deteriorating patients, confused families — and the clock ticking loudly.
✔ A nursery day where separation anxiety peaks
Five toddlers crying at once, a new child settling in, and a parent desperate for reassurance.
✔ A home care run hit by road closures, weather or delays
You’re doing your best.
People are waiting.
Time feels impossible.
✔ An inspection day
Whether you’re in a care home, GP practice, dentist, hospital service or childcare — inspections add instant intensity.
Even when you know you’re good, the pressure is enormous.
✔ Audit season
Infection control, falls, medication, training, care plans, fire safety — the list never ends.
And you still need to deliver great care alongside it.
✔ Big events
Christmas fairs, fetes, open days, fundraising events — they’re joyful, but they’re draining too.
Everyone pulls out all the stops.
✔ When you got something wrong and are doing everything you can to fix it
Mistakes happen in every profession.
In care, the emotional weight is heavier because you care so much about getting it right.
These are the shifts that need support — as much as the short-staffed ones.
💛 3. Show up for each other through the little moments
Peer support doesn’t have to be dramatic.
It’s the small, human gestures that lift the weight.
Try:
✔ Offering to take one task off a colleague’s plate
Just one.
One medication round.
One phone call.
One continence change.
One family update.
It matters.
✔ Making a cup of tea
Always underestimated — always appreciated.
✔ Checking in quietly
“How are you doing?”
“You okay after that conversation?”
“Need five minutes?”
✔ Being emotionally aware
If someone is quieter, distracted or teary — that’s your cue.
✔ Reminding each other you’re a team
“We’ve got this.”
“You’re not on your own.”
“We’ll get through it together.”
These words change how a shift feels.
💛 4. Use Peopleoo tools to lift morale and share the load
Connection is one of the best antidotes to overwhelm — and Peopleoo makes it easy.
⭐ Send a Special Mention
Recognise the colleague who stepped up, stayed late, supported a family, calmed a situation, solved a crisis or simply kept smiling.
These moments build resilience, trust and belonging.
⭐ Send an OOO
A quick hit of positivity that boosts:
morale
oxytocin
team spirit
Perfect after a tough shift.
⭐ Share reflections on Circles
Talk openly about:
the emotional moments
the tough interactions
the sad news
the wins
the pressures
You can even post anonymously using “post your voice, not your name” if you need space to process without being recognised.
⭐ Share tips, knowledge and support
Hospital staff can help care home staff.
Nursery teams can uplift family carers.
Dentists can support home carers.
Home care teams can share wisdom from the road.
We all learn from each other.
Peer support strengthens the whole sector — not just individual teams.
💛 5. Remember: tough shifts don’t define you
One heavy day doesn’t mean you’re failing.
It means you’re human, doing emotionally intensive work in an intense environment.
Supporting colleagues isn’t about grand gestures.
It’s about:
noticing
appreciating
connecting
acknowledging
encouraging
You don’t just work together — you carry the emotional labour of caring together.
💛 Final thought
The toughest shifts aren’t always the busiest.
They’re the ones that touch your heart, stretch your resilience, or push your emotional capacity.
Supporting colleagues through those shifts is part of what makes care special.
It builds stronger teams, better workplaces, safer services — and most importantly, happier carers.
Look after each other.
Lift each other.
Celebrate each other.
Because care is never done alone — and with Peopleoo, it never has to be. 💛