But if you’re looking for a career that connects you with people, where no two days are the same, where you finish your shift genuinely fulfilled, and where you’re making a real impact on someone’s life - you might want to think again.
Being a care and support worker is so much more than helping with day-to-day tasks. And there’s no better example of that than Linda and Theresa, whose story might just change how you see the job.
Meet Linda and Theresa
Linda is living with cancer and managing the long-term effects of surgery and treatment. She needs extra support while navigating this - especially as her husband lives with dementia.
Despite everything, Linda is warm, upbeat, bubbly, and importantly - obsessed with all things glam! To help her with daily tasks, she has a domiciliary care worker who, in her words, “makes her day” and who she’s “so grateful for.”
That care and support worker is Theresa.
Theresa started working as a domiciliary care and support worker three years ago. As she built experience and got more training, she worked her way up - she’s now a senior care worker and leads supporting her colleagues to develop and provide the best possible care to the people they support.
In other words, she’s a powerhouse.
How Theresa’s days as a domiciliary care and support worker look
As a care and support worker, Theresa visits clients in their homes in the mornings and evenings to help with whatever they need. On a typical day she supports four to five people, and the constant variety means she’s constantly learning.
So what does that actually involve?
“Anything,” she laughs. “You name it, we’re there.”
For Linda, it’s the simple stuff that makes the biggest difference. When Theresa arrives in the morning, she helps Linda get out of bed, shower, get ready for the day, makes her breakfast, hangs the washing out, and helps with the hoovering. As Theresa takes care of everything morning and evening, it allows Linda to have an easy restful afternoon in between.
Theresa and Linda: A real friendship
Through the giggles, the heart-to-hearts, and their shared love of being glam - even on the tough days - the two have built a genuinely close friendship.
“It’s absolutely lovely - we talk about everything,” Linda says. “It’s like having your sister.”
Theresa says they’ve bonded so much that Linda even introduced her to her son as “my friend.”
“I was like, ‘Oh, friend? Cool!’ And that made me feel good,” she says.
Through mutual respect, trust, and time together, the relationship has grown beyond client and care and support worker.
“Linda is actually a friend… that I support,” Theresa says.
The impact goes both ways
For Linda, Theresa’s support has been life-changing. She talks openly about the relief of having consistency and stability during such a difficult time.
“I could relax more,” Linda says. "I was just amazed what a difference it made to my life [knowing I had care workers] coming in every day."
And for Theresa, she hasn’t just found a friend - she’s found a career that gives her purpose.
“This job is super rewarding,” she reflects. “When I look at other kinds of jobs I think I could do, I don’t think I want to.”
And how does her work as a care and support worker make her feel?
“I am happy,” Theresa reflects. “I am at peace. I am content. I feel good. That is how rewarding this work is.”
Why you should consider a career in adult social care
If you’re reading Linda and Theresa’s story and think a career in care might be for you, you’re not alone.
A career in adult social care isn’t just a job - it’s a passion which connects, empowers, and changes people’s lives.
Everyone brings something unique to caring, whether your strength is empathy, patience, organisation, humour, or resilience.
Think you know what care work involves? Put yourself to the test with the Care Quiz.
Take the Care Quiz to find out
Thomas Thorn