[tiger]

i blame administration for all the bad attitudes. they are the ones who have the power to change things but instead they look the other way or flat out ignore you. that is why i am pro-union. if we didn't have it the suits would screw us over everytime. they still can get by with alot--but some things can be kept in check. when they have to back down or reverse a bad decision they made, it just makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over. jerks!!!!! edited to reflect the fact that i am talking about certain administrative people that are at my job and that it may not apply to all.

[tiger]

and just to add one more thing. we have a bad manager and a poor excuse for a charge nurse right now but administration could halt that problem as well.

[cheerfuldoer]

Originally posted by CEN35
Who do you hold most responsible for your bad attitude, or issues with your job?

me

Hmmmm...I didn't see a place to check "Oneself" for "Who I hold most responsible for my bad attitude or issues with my job"...CEN35. Because before one can point the finger at someone else for their bad attitude, one must FIRST look at the THUMB pointing back at them...IMHO.

No one is responsible for how I present myself in any given situation except ME. Those in authority over me on a job are NOT responsible. Why? Because I and I only have the last say about how I care to respond to any given situation on a job, or in my personal life. "The Powers That Be" can certainly TRY to provoke a negative response in me. "THEY" can even send me packing if they don't care to accept me as I present myself, but the same goes for me to...If I don't care for the way they present themselves, I can walk out the employer's door the same way I walked in it on the first day of my job.

Sitting down and talking a situation over to iron out any "Attitude" issues is the best way to begin mending fences with others...bosses included. If both parties are willing to sit down together and share what the problem is and the solution to a problem as they see it, then that shows that TWO or more RESPONSIBLE ADULTS can work out any "BA" problems quickly and professionally. If they cannot agree...shake hands and call it a day as you leave to seek new employment. IF the "Boss" is the one giving a "BA" to the majority of staff, then obviously the problem is not to be owned by one person on that staff, but the "Boss" needs to be confronted regarding how he/she is treating his/her staff. They should then try to iron out the issue with their "Boss". If that doesn't work, then use the chain of responsibility to fix the problem. But, to go around blaming someone else for one's "BA" is not only immature, but shows an unwillingness to address one's own "BA"...giving it ownership, then vowing to change what is causing the riff at work.

[tiger]

renee, i wish it were that easy to sit down and talk about low morale running rampant in our facility and have it go away. but it isn't. alot of people including myself have been there a long time and do not want to give up benes or retire.. if everyone mentioned in the poll treated others with the respect they deserve morale would not suffer therefore i do place blame on them. yes, you are in control of rhe way you respond to any situation, sometimes peoples treatment of you can give you the blues and result in poor attitude toward your job. at least in my opinion. wadda ya think??????

[cheerfuldoer]

Hi tiger!
I think stress affects each person differently, and each person will react to that stress factor in different ways. Sometimes we must...for our own sanity and protection...CHOOSE to adopt different approaches to how we deal with managements "BA"s or a staff members "BA"s in our place of employment. Nothing is wrong in the way we feel for feelings are neither right nor wrong...it is what we do with our feelings that make or break us.

I've always taken the approach I mentioned in my above post when dealing with someone who may need an "attitude adjustment"...including myself. Meaning...I would check my own attitude, sit down and really give my attitude some thought, and pray about how I can become a better sport in stressful situations. If I am having difficulty with a manager or staff member's attitude, I approach them and ask for a "meeting of the minds"...if you will. I have had two situations in my past that come to mind, and each "meeting of the minds" that I had was successful in that those two people apologized for their "BA"s, and from that point on, treated me with professional respect...as well we all should.

I totally understand what you and the others are saying when placing blame for bad attitudes on management, etc. I in no way doubt those issues exist BIG TIME! I do think that the best approach nurses can make in times like that is a firm, honest, straightforward, respectful, assertive, not backing down, professional one when trying to improve situations between themselves and staff. Waaaaaayyyyy too often...nurses GIVE IN simply for those reasons you mentioned in your post [ie: benefits, close to retirement so don't want to make waves, need the job, etc.] Those managers and hospital admin people KNOW these things about nurses, and use that knowledge to keep the upperhand.

The reason things aren't changing in the hospitals is because not enough nurses are willing to make that happen. Let me explain: Nurses have essentially ran the hospitals in this country for eons. Not doctors! But, nurses. We simply must get off our complacent comfortable cushions and stand up for change...if it's necessary to complain about...it's necessary to take a stand for until the changes are made. Will that make a lot of nurses' lives a tad uncomfortable? Absolutely! There's a cost to anything worth having or fighting for. Freedom doesn't come free. Just because we may not be the one's fighting to keep our personal freedom doesn't mean someone's child isn't...our soldiers, sailors, coast guard, airmen, and marines...they are the ones doing our fighting for us. WEll...Nurses are going to have to become warriors on the battlefield...that battlefield being hospitals they work in that have less than ideal conditions that are taking innocent lives every second due to neglect, understaffing, mismanagement of funds and personnel...and so forth. Are we as nurses willing to put on our armor, and go to the frontlines of that "battlefield" to make the necessary changes that need to be made, or are we going to keep arguing with those who are successfully arguing back...and not changing a darn thing?

Somtimes...an assertive "BA" can be a good thing! The question is: Do we really want change? If so, then why isn't change being made? We aren't banding together and fighting "TPTB" to bring these changes about. Men would do it. Why not women?

I will read your response tomorrow because my eyelids are about to go beddy-bye without me. Night now!

[Kayzee]

Cheerfuldoer, have you ever walked off the job without giving 2 week notice? I'm so close to doing that lately.

[alwaysthere]

The people who sit around in there comfy offices, with there nine to five only on weekdays jobs, that actually get to take their lunch breaks. And have not been on the floor in YRS yet sit around and tell those of us that are busting there butts what to do...!! and you didnt do that right and you need to do this and you need to fill this out and so on and so forth. I have one HN that i greatly respect because she will work the floor in a pinch... and when she is working as a HN she helps out everyone!