Care workers now more under-appreciated than nurses according to latest poll

Care workers have risen to second on a list of the most underappreciated public sector roles according to the British public - overtaking nurses.

A survey by public sector membership club Boundless asked workers across the country to name the profession they felt was most under-appreciated in the build up to this year’s UN Public Service Day, which falls on Tuesday 23 June.

The vote saw refuse collectors take first spot, named by 33% of those surveyed, ahead of care workers on 30% and then nurses on 25%.

It marks a significant turn-around in public opinion since 2019, when the same survey saw nurses finish top, with care workers third on only 26%.

Darren Milton at Boundless said: “Our nation’s hard-working care workers have been in the public eye this year, especially during the last few months of the pandemic, and it’s good to see the public is starting to realise just how under-appreciated they are. Hopefully, this will be the start of a new wave of appreciation that makes care workers feel more valued in future.

“The good news is that our survey also showed that public sector workers, including care workers and nurses, are being thanked a lot more often than a year ago.

“In 2019, they had gone an average of 57 days since a member of the public last said ‘thank you’. This year the figure is down to nine days.

“In fact, in the NHS, the figure has dropped even more dramatically - from 43 days to just 2 days since they were last thanked.

“That’s not surprising when you think about the way the country came out to clap for key workers on Thursdays during the lockdown. But we don’t want to lose that momentum as the lockdown eases. That’s why Public Service Day is so important.”

Public Service Day was first launched by the United Nations as long ago as 2003 but has barely been barely recognised in the UK so far.

Now Boundless, which was founded in 1923, wants to turn this around and bring the UK together to celebrate the contribution made to society by millions of public service workers, from nurses to teachers, firefighters to administrators and police officers to care workers.

The campaign has the support of Minister for Care, Helen Whately, MP, who paid tribute to the nation’s care workers ahead of Public Service Day.

She said: “This global pandemic has brought tremendous sorrow and disruption to our lives, but amongst this we have also seen widespread and much-deserved recognition of public sector workers who have and will continue to play a fundamental role in our response.

“I am delighted to see increased appreciation of the incredible contribution our wonderful NHS and care staff make every day, as well as the many other public sector workers who support them.

“I, along with many others, hope to see this continue long after our country has recovered because we could not have done this without them. Thank you.”

2020 table of most under-appreciated public sector workers

1 Refuse collectors 33%

2 Care workers 30%

3 Nurses 25%

4 Bus drivers 24%

5 Teachers 22%

6 Police 18%

7 HMRC 13%

8 Fire fighters 13%

9 Probation workers 13%

10 Civil service 12%

2019 top three

1 Nurses 31%

2 Refuse collectors 30%

3 Care workers 26%

For more information, please visit www.boundless.co.uk/publicserviceday2020

-Ends-

Methodology

2020 survey:

Fieldwork: Markettiers

Sample: 2,003 UK workers

Survey period: May 2020

2019 survey:

Fieldwork: Censuswide

Sample: 2,004 UK workers

Survey period: June 2019

For further information, please contact:

Flo Powell or Carissa Christy

Midnight Communications

Tel: 01273 666 200

Email: Boundless@midnight.co.uk   

About Boundless

Boundless is a membership club for civil service and public sector workers who are looking for inspiration on getting the most out of their free time. With a heritage and expertise dating back more than 95 years, Boundless offers its 230,000 members deals on hundreds of unique experiences, events, volunteer activities and things to do. It’s also mutual, so all profits go straight back into the club to benefit members.

www.boundless.co.uk

Ends

Editors notes

Boundless is a membership club for civil service and public sector workers who are looking for inspiration on getting the most out of their free time. With a heritage and expertise dating back more than 90 years, Boundless offers its 230,000 members deals on hundreds of unique experiences, events, volunteer activities and things to do. It’s also mutual, so all profits go straight back into the club to benefit members.