so there I was sitting at work and finding frustration building, which often happens on Sunday nights because the team that keeps the place running, which would be Berry, mostly, is off Sunday and Monday and the supervisor who has finally come around to follow our lead is also off...

so Sunday nights I work with three people who do not function well as a team... one is a hyper-friendly social butterfly who is always smiling (but also very angry deep down) and her work ethic is huh?... she means well, but her error rate is better than 50% due to lack of focus and little interest in the job itself...

my other co-worker is slightly psychotic... she's raged at almost everyone in the place, especially anyone in authority and she's been moved around so much she is well known as the person you'd least like to work with... definite anger management problems... one night she actually had to be escorted off the unit because she would not calm down... she was back the next night though... she also comes late regularly and takes extended breaks frequently and the weak supervisors do not want to confront her... that's the way the place is managed, or mismanaged...

and the nurse/supervisor on Sundays seems confused and frustrated most of the time and in one breath will complain about the lack of professionalism and attention to detail in the place and then she's best friends with the first co-worker I described, which means she selectively overlooks the lack of professionalism and poor attention to detail and mistakes...

so I spend Sunday nights keeping myself busy trying tto avoid the frustrating working environment and trying to ignore the mistakes being made... see, after the second co-worker above blew up last time, telling me she did not have to do things the way we do them on the unit, the way all the staff on all the shifts wants it done because it works, we had a meeting and she was all apologetic (to save her job) and said she was just frustrated because Berry and I do all the work and she just wanted to help so the management, in their infinite ignorance, fell for her game and decided there should be assignment sheets and everyone should alternate doing all of the work... so co-worker #1 above messes stuff up all the time simply because she doesn't focus and doesn't care... and co-worker #2 is not happy because she really didn't want to work and she's getting away with doing a half-assed job of things and supervisors don't want to set her off, so everyone complains to me and I shrug and remind them that I'm not in charge, it wasn't my idea, and they know who to complain to, for all the good it'll do...

so sitting there at work tonight I decided to think about how to fix things and I started writing my thoughts and came up with this...

ok, so what have we got here� at work, I mean� a bit of supervisory omission, that is a supervisor who is too friendly with her staff to give out assignments and make sure staff do their jobs properly� it does not help that the supervisors do not know the details of the jobs of the staff they supervise� but ultimately, allowing excessive breaks and sleeping on the job are things any supervisor ought to be able to correct�

in situations like these the good staff are victimized because they have to pick up on the work of the staff who is goofing off and there are two alternatives after direct confrontation fails� go over the supervisor�s head or push the envelope� in this place, going over the supervisor�s head just presents us with another supervisor who does not wish to do her job� it is a hospital� all the supervisors are nurses� some are good nurses� some may be great nurses, but there�s no way to know as it is not a med/surg hospital� in any case, the supervisors are not hired for their supervisory or management skills and most have little or none and do not want any sort of supervisory or management confrontation�

so I push the envelope� in other words, I goof off just as much as the goof-off staff and challenge the supervisor or other staff to say something� usually this requires a meeting to discuss what is wrong on the unit� and in the meeting, the truth comes out� if one staff is allowed to get over on the system continuously, then moral drops, respect for supervisors drops, and overall work (including patient care) suffers� the outcome of such meetings is usually more stringent guidelines for supervisors, assignment sheets, and a tightening of the rules in the work environment� everyone suffers until the goof-off staff either straightens out or leaves� not a good solution, but the only solution this place will offer because there are no supervisors or managers with a backbone or communication, organization, disciplinary, or other skills in a supervisory capacity�

when I arrived I asked what my assignment was� no answer� after half an hour I pulled out an assignment sheet and placed it on the supervisor�s work area� the supervisor disappeared for almost two hours� when she returned, there was a second assignment sheet out, but she ignored that one too� oh well� along about then I told the supervisor I was taking a full lunch break tonight (I rarely take any breaks at all)�

so tonight I shall take a longer than usual lunch break (probably push it to an hour, at least) � ironically, when I told the supervisor I was going to take a break, suddenly there was concern about the timing of the breaks� now goof-off staff takes four or five breaks a night and usually comes in twenty minutes late, but nothing is said until I want to leave the unit� I ignore the unfairness and simply take my break� if the supervisor or goof-off staff, who has serious entitlement issues, has a problem, I suppose it�s time for another meeting�

it just so happens that because breaks were not planned, I am going to take mine just about the time goof-off staff takes one of her many breaks� we shall see if anything is said about the timing or the duration of my break when I get back� this is not how I prefer to deal with things, but in a work environment where the squeaky wheel gets their way and the problem staff are catered to and no supervisor deals with problems, bringing a problem to a head is the only way to get a resolution� we�ll have a resolution eventually�

and here we are again after an hour away� no one has said anything about it today, which is a sign that the supervisor will let things get worse before they get better and there may need to be a crisis to force some action (as usual, management here is 100% reactive)� so I�ll let time take the action that no one else will and meanwhile, enjoy extended breaks and maybe some extra computer time�

but work shall not dominate my thoughts or writing�

even at work...

. o O ( NOTES ARE THE NEW HAPPY PILL ) O o .
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