When work happens in the house: Perceptions of how residential care staff choose to spend work time in transitional living units for people with brain injury

Objective: This naturalistic study explored the influence of various contextual factors on the decision making of residential care staff (RCS) who worked and lived with clients with brain injury in transitional living environments. The findings reported here arose from the results of a larger study that investigated the multiple contextual, personal, professional and theoretical influences on RCS decision making. Participants: Eleven residential care staff who were employed in brain injury transitional living units in Sydney, Australia participated. Methods: Qualitative data were derived from interviews, participant observation and reviews of videotaped staff and client interactions with the residential care staff. Results: The RCS identified time and organisational motivators as major influences on daily decision making at work. They described how decisions were made by them about how to prioritise time at work from two personal perspectives, that of 'hospital person' and 'house person', adopted relative to contextual influences at the time. Conclusion: Residential care staff who are in close personal contact with clients for long periods of time make decisions about their work that is largely based on their personal notions of 'running a house'. Further research is required to describe the emergent phenomenon of staff 'house' behaviour.