Morale in your facility/work place

[cougarnurse]

Just wondering....how do you all keep morale up in your work place? :39:

'Cat'

[AmandaWIRN]

When I was in WI, before I started traveling, my co-workers and I would sometimes go out for Bloody Marys in the morning after a bad night at work....

[cassioo]

Don't join the ***** and moan club it just pulls everyone down. Everybody has a bad day now and then but dont' make it every day. Decide what is important to you in your life ie...health, family and then decide that everything else is just extra and there's no need getting made because the person you follow forgot I&o's left a dry IV, took too many smoke breaks... have fun and laugh at work it makes the day go faster....I'm not Susie Sunshine but if you can't be with the one's you love love the ones you're with at least for 8 or 12 hours...don't sweat the small stuff.....
I've been up all night on that darn night shift see what it does to me ...but my DH made me french toast when I got home.

[cougarnurse]

Cass, what a sweet guy. I get a cuppa joe in the a.m., especially when I hit the site first thing. Kinda helps before the p & m club starts up a few hours later.

[Ricu]

Hi folks,

I think Cass hit the nail on the head. A person does a lot for workplace morale by contributing to the positive things and intentionally avoiding the negative. Doing so is like putting money in the bank; sometimes you need to take a little but there is always enough if you deposit more than you withdrawl. Thanks Cougar, for starting a really good thread.

R

[hppygr8ful]

I'd have to say that morale where I work is pretty high. Of course there's some bickering between shifts at times but even that is minor! Maybet it's because we work 8's and we're not so exhausted at the end of a shift. Our management is pretty decent too. They throw a big bar-b-q once a month for day and PM staff and a breakfast for nocs. They also have an open door policy where you can talk to the DON or Ceo anytime you have a concern. It's certainly the best place I've ever worked.

On the unit we keep up morale by helping eachother out. Our facility is Acute Psych and can be trying and even dangerous at times but we all pitch in when situations arise.

As far as my team goes - I will sometimes buy them lunch - I know that not everyone can afford to this but it's really nice to know your work is appreciated.

I agree with cass that you can't sweat the small stuff (and it's all small stuff as long as no one gets hurt) Concentrate on the positives and deal with the negatives but don't dwell.

Peace and Namaste

Hppy

[SoldierNurse]

I realize my present workplace is not the norm for most nurses on this site. However, I will say keeping the morale high in my work environment can be a challenge, to say the least. We are working 60-72 hour work weeks. We seem to run out of medical supplies frequently. We all miss our families back stateside very, very much. The heat index outside is well above 120 degrees. The chow is the same horrible stuff week after week.

At the workplace, in the ICU we help each other and act as a team. The nurses & docs have a great line of communication and mutual respect. Some of the docs are going back home after here for only six months while most of us are here for 15 months.

Also, it helps to know the folks [ya'll!] back home support us [the troops], which helps morale.

[cougarnurse]

Start singing 'The Battle of New Orleans'???? Geez, I do living History, and would start humming the first few bars when approaching the British.

At least I am not the only one who's had a bad time with this subject!

'Cat'

[imported_Nurse_Advocate]

I recently wrote our new Department Director an e-mail containing my "wish list" for our floor...I explained that I understood it if perhaps NOT ONE of my items could ever become a reality. The reason I was writing her (and I've known her for years) was to simply do something pro-active that made ME feel like I was being HEARD.

For me, that is the worst feeling. The feeling that no one (management) is listening to the front line staff and that there is no one (management) who cares. In that respect, the morale on our floor is lousy. None of us feel that we can really get things changed to how they need to be. We complain to each other but not as a unified voice and not to anyone who counts.

So I took it on myself to write my wish list. She told me recently that she has several things on the list "under consideration" and she wants to talk to me about several others (that should be an interesting conversation).

The point is I stepped out of "my box" to make ME feel better, to be able to say that I did something pro-active...we'll see!

[kararnmi]

I recently wrote our new Department Director an e-mail containing my "wish list" for our floor...I explained that I understood it if perhaps NOT ONE of my items could ever become a reality. The reason I was writing her (and I've known her for years) was to simply do something pro-active that made ME feel like I was being HEARD.

For me, that is the worst feeling. The feeling that no one (management) is listening to the front line staff and that there is no one (management) who cares. In that respect, the morale on our floor is lousy. None of us feel that we can really get things changed to how they need to be. We complain to each other but not as a unified voice and not to anyone who counts.

So I took it on myself to write my wish list. She told me recently that she has several things on the list "under consideration" and she wants to talk to me about several others (that should be an interesting conversation).

The point is I stepped out of "my box" to make ME feel better, to be able to say that I did something pro-active...we'll see!

What I've found in my hospital is it's all in the presentation that your floor/unit manager gives to upper management. Maybe she has not idea how to do this so you can give her a hand by giving her your best presentation. The increasingly unrealistic number of menial as well as critical tasks we're expected to do in any given shift can be accomplished with the right ancilliary staff and the right ratio's, right? Every time the nurses on the floor fall short with expectations your manager needs to look at these factors and PRESENT that to his/her manager or DON. Your floor manager gets slack and comes at the floor nurses expecting change. Your manager isn't going to accomplish anything by continually riding her staff to meet a quality level of care if it JUST CANNOT BE DONE. When you discuss this with her/him give them quotes of studies done in say magnet hospitals where the ratio's and staffing our adequate. Whining and complaining never gets anyone anywhere, give them stats and numbers and tell them their goals for your unit hospital just aren't going to accomplished unless they change their numbers.