“Honest to God, I wish I'd done it 20 years ago”

After more than 20 years as an area sales manager, Allison retired from her retail career with plenty to look back on.  

But not long after calling it a day, she got an urge and a sense that she wasn’t quite ready to stop. 

At 55 years of age, she knew that she wanted to carry on working – but in a role with purpose and which she knew would make a difference. That’s when she joined Lifeways as a support worker. 

“Honest to God, I wish I'd done it 20 years ago,” she says with a smile. “It's brilliant, honestly, it's brilliant.” 

Three and a half years into her role as a support worker at Lifeways Group, Allison discovered a side of herself she never knew existed. 

“You get chances to do things that you've never done before,” she explained. “When you're looking after someone with these specific day-to-day challenges, this is up to us. We've got to make sure that they're safe.”

Allison doesn't sugarcoat the reality of the work, but her eyes light up when she talks about the moments that matter.

“You can’t come in thinking you're going to sit in front of the TV all day or go out for lunch every time,” she said. “Those are nice things to do, so are day trips out. But it's the work leading up to there. It really is hard work but if you put the hard work in, then you get the rewards at the end by seeing their faces.

“I don't think you need any experience because, depending on where you work, everybody's individual. You train yourself around the people that you're supporting because they train you how they want to be supported.”

For her, it's the small victories that create the biggest impact - the ones that might seem ordinary to everyone else, but are extraordinary when you've witnessed the journey.

“You come in one day and they've made the bed. They've never done it before. Or they make themselves a sandwich, and you just go, you did that. Might have taken two years, but you did it. It's really good,” Allison said.

“Tying the shoelaces, putting the shoes on properly, getting yourself dressed in the morning, being independent in a shower. And it's all a learning curve for absolutely every one of us. And that's a challenge for me.

“And when I come out the other side, and I come out the other side holding their hand, it's amazing.”

“This has got to be what you want to do. It's got to be a vocation.”

Never Too Late to Learn

One of the most unexpected gifts of Alison's new career? She's become a student again.

“It's brilliant because all I ever knew, I mean, like I said, I came out of sales at 55. And that was me done. And school and college and everything, you think that's me done learning. I learnt to drive in my twenties, and I thought, yeah, that's my last exam. And it isn't. And you're learning things every day."

She grins: "And you get paid for doing it as well, so that's alright."

You're Not Just Anyone

Allison’s story is part of Lifeways’ biggest-ever recruitment campaign “You’re Not Just Anyone”. Support work takes heart, determination, and the courage to make a real difference in someone's life.

If Allison's story resonates with you, maybe it's time to explore what you could bring to our team and see if there’s a place for you at Lifeways.

Because you're not just anyone. And this isn't just any job.