We think that being a Lifestyle Attendant is a pretty rewarding job, but don’t just take it from us! We had a chat with two of our amazing Lifestyle Attendants to find out about the benefits and professional challenges that come with the role.
The Disability Support Workers/Lifestyle Attendants at Enhanced Lifestyles are the heart of our association. This was the first service that we offered, and it was specially designed by a group of people living with disability.
Our Lifestyle Attendants have a different name to the more well-known Disability Support Workers and Personal Care Workers. While it’s true that there are many similarities between these roles, there is a difference: the customer-centric approach. You see, our Lifestyle Attendants work with the customer, making sure that the customer is empowered to direct their services and have control of their lifestyle. We’ve found that this respectful and collaborative approach creates strong bonds between the customer and their Lifestyle Attendants, making the job incredibly rewarding and fulfilling.
To really show you what it’s like to be a Lifestyle Attendant, we asked two of our amazing Lifestyle Attendants, Debbie and Elizabeth, about the benefits and challenges involved in their job.
What would you say to someone who is considering becoming a Lifestyle Attendant?
What would you say to someone who is considering becoming a Lifestyle Attendant?Debbie: You’ll be working for a great company: everyone within the organisation is wonderful to work with, and you get to work the hours you want to work. You get to meet awesome people and customers, which is so rewarding, and you’ll learn a new set of skills like how to support someone through life each day.
Elizabeth: You’ll find great fulfilment and joy through supporting someone to live life how they want. The working relationships you form with customers become very special because you play an important part in their lives by supporting them every day. Plus, you’ll be working for a company that truly cares for its customers and employees.
What do you find most rewarding about your job?
Debbie: I love working with all of my customers, and I like being part of their lives. Knowing I’ve made a customer happy by doing something to their satisfaction is a great feeling. Also, Enhanced Lifestyles supports my needs which makes me happy, and I get to work the hours that work for me.
Elizabeth: I like supporting customers to live independently in their homes and learn new skills. The gratitude and fulfillment of knowing a customer is happy after I’ve supported them to achieve something significant is wonderful – it’s nice to make a positive difference in their life.
What professional challenges have you encountered on the job? How did you overcome them?
Debbie: Not jumping in and assisting with a task straight away. I don’t want to take independence away from customers. To overcome this I had to think, “if they don’t do it themselves, they’ll never get to do it”. Another challenge is tailoring everything I do to suit customers’ needs instead of doing it my way; I always ask my customers how they like something to be done before I do it.
Elizabeth: One challenge is collaborating with Lifestyle Attendants across various teams. They might approach situations differently, so you have to learn to work with that. Also, you will encounter challenges with customers that you work with, so you have to listen carefully and be determined to achieve a positive outcome for them.
What is your favourite activity to do with customers?
Debbie: Social outings, getting to know what they like/dislike, supporting them to explore the community (cafés, shows and community events). I like just joining them in their journey and being part of their progress – as long as customers are happy with whatever we’re doing, I’m happy.
Elizabeth: Social activities such as Coffee Clubs, going out for meals, taking them for drives, shopping, and most importantly, spending quality time with them.
What benefits come with working at Enhanced Lifestyles?
Debbie: The flexibility of working the hours that work for you and your lifestyle, matching customers based on your strengths and support capacity, salary sacrificing, and plenty of opportunities to develop through their disability training courses.
Elizabeth: I love that Enhanced Lifestyles organises meet and greets between customers and Lifestyle Attendants to establish a connection before commencing formal shifts. Enhanced Lifestyles provides training that has supported my development and has allowed me to keep delivering the best support to customers. We also get to salary package which increases our take-home pay.
So there you have it! We’d like to extend a big thank you to Debbie and Elizabeth for sharing their experiences with us.
Demand for our services is growing, so we’re always looking for passionate Lifestyle Attendants. If you want to be a part of our team, we would love to hear from you – just email us at apply@enhancedlifestyles.com.au and include these three things:
- Your resume, including two references and their contact details
- Your NDIS clearance
- Your First Aid certificate
