The happy policy

Nurses Relations

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There's apparently a policy in our workplace, a new one that says something along the line of; Anyone who appears drained, unenthusiastic, unhappy in anyway etc. can be asked by the manager to leave that work day in order to reflect on their behavior. Thoughts? Do you have a policy like this?

Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
Yes, something like this may be coming to a hospital near you. It's called the Disneyland Model and our hospital has "bought into it" and we are being forced to sign an agreement that we are too. If we don't then maybe we need to work at another hospital or on another unit. Gee, that made me feel so wanted!

I think it is totally inappropriate for a hospital to try and be like Disney, especially when we are working short-staffed. I wish I could afford to retire....

Disneyland, huh?

I was a patient in a hospital recently. No one wants to be in the hospital...I mean, I was sick. But that all changed when the nurses, wearing traditional multi-cultural garb, danced into my room, held hands and sang...

You have herpes after all.

You have herpes after all...

What a wonderful way to inform me of my diagnosis!

Gosh, it's great to see these healthcare professionals ENJOYING themselves

Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

Hmmmm, I would just have to wear a surgical mask with a big cheesy grin painted on it for the whole shift.

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
i hate perky.

yep. most of the time we have a running list of stuff we need to do in our minds, that "oh $%$# i forgot to look happy!!" wedged in there most likely would, on my face anyway -- look something like jack nicholson's face when he barged through the door in the shining. "heere's nurseeeeeee!!" not comforting at all.

the "today show" ditched jane pauley for deborah norville becasue they were looking for someone "perky". where is deborah now? doing tabloid tv the last i heard.

perfect example of a boneheaded "great idea" by management that looks good on the drawing board and backfires big time because perceptions aren't simplistic formulas.

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

While I do think this is way over the top, I do wish the perpetually negative unhappy people would stop coming to work. It's so draining on everyone else and really brings down the unit and the patients can tell too.

I have FUN at work. I love having fun with my patients and my co-workers. Some people just suck the fun out of everything and make it such a miserable experience.

But it is all very subjective and once in a while having a bad day should be OK. But if every day is a bad day it's time to re-evaluate your situation and change it. IMO

Specializes in Orthopaedic Nursing; Geriatrics.

Hi, I'm Mary Poppins and I will be your nurse today!:uhoh3:

Specializes in FNP.

I agree with Mi Vida Loca.

The Disney model works well, there is no denying it, and it can't hurt to try. I support the policy.

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I don't know...

I have worked a few places - nursing or in other fields - that I wish this policy had been in force. Sometimes working with the Eeyore-type people (and you know they are out there... nothing in this world will make them grin, stop huffing and puffing, pick up the pace, stop the endless complaining, etc.) is more tough than dealing with the increased work load that their absence brings.

I am no Mary Poppins, and yes, there are nights when I would rather be anywhere other than work. But, it is a necessary "evil" that allows me such luxuries as a roof over my family's heads and food on the table. Externally displaying my poor mood does no one - especially myself - and favors.

c'mon guys... put on a happy face! :D

Exactly. You can be happy without being fake or over killing it. I think a lot of it just goes with how some people are period. I would be willing to be that a good majority of those Eeyore-type people you see at work at much the same outside of work. They are just those negative people that the glass is always half empty and woa is them and everything bad always happens to them etc. etc. They are toxic and they suck the life out of people. They can really bring down a unit because it's so hard to not have it start spilling over. Then when they sit around complaining other people start joining in that otherwise might not.

It's kinda like when you have a nurse that does nothing but complain about a patient to everyone around them and to the on coming nurse. Sure some patients are pains, but when a nurse is told nothing but negative things about the patient it might alter their care a little because they are going to already go in with a bad perception about the patient and will look for anything bad.

A policy like this would be hard to enforce because of the subjectivity, but I would venture to guess the creator of the policy was thinking more along the lines of these people we are talking about.

The concept in my opinion is a good one. It's the execution and the subjectivity that would get sticky. A lot of these toxic people have no idea how toxic they are.

I am a happy person generally. I am not fake and I have tried to be fake and it doesn't work well. I wear my emotions pretty well. I do go into a funk now and again but overall I try to be a positive and happy person and I am someone that has gone through a lot of bad stuff. I don't use it as an excuse.

One of the biggest things I have gotten back in feedback is that people enjoy being around me because I am a happy and positive person and I like to have fun. Just like negative people can suck the life out of people, positive people can lighten the mood and turn someones bad night around if even just for the shift.

To many people want to think in extremes. Someone says they want to see people more happy and stuff and all of a sudden it's taken to mean that we have to jump and sing and have a fake smile on our face and so on. That's not the case.

Yeah- I agree, nobody wants to work with serial buzzkills....but at the same time, nobody can really say if someone is happy or not. Maybe they're thinking about something that requires a lot of attention, and not skipping down the halls pulling daisy petals off a nice perky daisy :D Or, maybe they're going through a lot and might not be a candidate for "Most Likely to Glow"- but they're not notably negative, unkind, or nasty.....

IDK. When someone is being told how to "act", or be sent home, what's next? If it's someone who IS a serial buzzkill, then maybe they need some EAP time. If that doesn't work, I don't know what would be next.

I can handle a nurse who is not smiling from ear to ear- but knows what she's doing a LOT better than I can handle some cheesy faced nitwit who can't find her way out of an airplane hanger.

Yes. Attitude is important...but maybe take care of things on an individual basis- OR, if it's really that big of a problem, get rid of the HR person who keeps letting the losers in the door to begin with ????? :)

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Yeah- I agree, nobody wants to work with serial buzzkills....but at the same time, nobody can really say if someone is happy or not. Maybe they're thinking about something that requires a lot of attention, and not skipping down the halls pulling daisy petals off a nice perky daisy :D Or, maybe they're going through a lot and might not be a candidate for "Most Likely to Glow"- but they're not notably negative, unkind, or nasty.....

IDK. When someone is being told how to "act", or be sent home, what's next? If it's someone who IS a serial buzzkill, then maybe they need some EAP time. If that doesn't work, I don't know what would be next.

I can handle a nurse who is not smiling from ear to ear- but knows what she's doing a LOT better than I can handle some cheesy faced nitwit who can't find her way out of an airplane hanger.

Yes. Attitude is important...but maybe take care of things on an individual basis- OR, if it's really that big of a problem, get rid of the HR person who keeps letting the losers in the door to begin with ????? :)

Yes, things should be handled on an individual basis because sometimes things do come up. But you can usually see a pattern in certain types of people and in a job like ours a persons overall attitude is a big factor. If you work in a cubicle not having to deal with people at all then maybe it's not a big deal. But we have to interact with many people on a day to day basis and you need to have a good and positive attitude most of the time. IMO. Things do happen in life though and you might be going through a lot, but if it some times passes and you still can't separate your home life from your work life then it's time to get yourself some help to better cope.

Like I said, I understand people can't always be in a good mood and I would never expect people to walk around with a fake smile and dancing and cheering and so on. A persons attitude will reflect regardless of a smile. You don't have to have a ear to ear grin to radiate positive energy.

This thread just goes into extremes and glosses over what was probably the main intention or point of the policy because people take it to such extremes in their responses.

Anyway, I think it's worth looking into what the main issue is and that would be the perpetually nasty negative people that bring down a unit.

I'd love to believe that folks in this thread are just overreacting to a possibly reasonable policy. Unfortunately, there are enough Looney Tunes corporate mandates out there that it can't be assumed.

This may be the logical follow-up to, "The beatings will continue until morale improves!"--the Management.

Yes, things should be handled on an individual basis because sometimes things do come up. But you can usually see a pattern in certain types of people and in a job like ours a persons overall attitude is a big factor. If you work in a cubicle not having to deal with people at all then maybe it's not a big deal. But we have to interact with many people on a day to day basis and you need to have a good and positive attitude most of the time. IMO. Things do happen in life though and you might be going through a lot, but if it some times passes and you still can't separate your home life from your work life then it's time to get yourself some help to better cope.

Like I said, I understand people can't always be in a good mood and I would never expect people to walk around with a fake smile and dancing and cheering and so on. A persons attitude will reflect regardless of a smile. You don't have to have a ear to ear grin to radiate positive energy.

This thread just goes into extremes and glosses over what was probably the main intention or point of the policy because people take it to such extremes in their responses.

Anyway, I think it's worth looking into what the main issue is and that would be the perpetually nasty negative people that bring down a unit.

This whole thread has reminded me of a policy at one of the last hospitals I worked at re: piercings and tattoos. I don't particularly like tattoos, or "non-ear" piercings- HOWEVER.... the policy went nuts. (and they were serious about everybody). I'd rather have someone with holes all over their being, and so full of ink they don't bleed anymore IF they are smarter and have more common sense than the non-inked, hole-less nurses they wanted. It was all based on how someone looked. Nothing more. They said the older patients preferred it.... REALLY? The retired folks NOW were bouncing around Woodstock in tie-dye and no bras....a tattoo was gonna impair their healing? The flower children shriveled their roots?

If the hospital was SO intent on only having people with "empty" skin (pierced stud earrings were ok)- they shouldn't have hired them. Simple solution, and didn't pit staff against who supported who, etc.

Yeah- the duds are lousy to work with. I just was glad they didn't come home with me, and I didn't live in their world. But mandating mood is a bit silly- and impossible. Fakes = lie in my book.....can't trust 'em. At least with the duds not being fake, you know what you get.... or figure out some way to get rid of them that's legit. Don't shoot the whole crowd, and see who's left standing :)

I hate punitive stuff passed out to the whole staff. Deal with the individual duds, and leave the rest out of it. If a bunch of strangers are getting 'intense' about this :D think about how it's going to be at work for the OP with her co-workers. Glad I'm not there....:eek:

I used to have a ball at work (and when I stopped having a decent time - didn't have to be a big picnic- but at least socially pleasant and worth more than the headaches it caused) I went elsewhere. I was lucky. Most of the places I worked were "perky" enough to drive the duds nuts, so they just left.... The duds couldn't stand it. They couldn't wait to quit. And we were happy they felt that way- more merriment was had by all (but one). :up:

JMO :)

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
This whole thread has reminded me of a policy at one of the last hospitals I worked at re: piercings and tattoos. I don't particularly like tattoos, or "non-ear" piercings- HOWEVER.... the policy went nuts. (and they were serious about everybody). I'd rather have someone with holes all over their being, and so full of ink they don't bleed anymore IF they are smarter and have more common sense than the non-inked, hole-less nurses they wanted. It was all based on how someone looked. Nothing more. They said the older patients preferred it.... REALLY? The retired folks NOW were bouncing around Woodstock in tie-dye and no bras....a tattoo was gonna impair their healing? The flower children shriveled their roots?

If the hospital was SO intent on only having people with "empty" skin (pierced stud earrings were ok)- they shouldn't have hired them. Simple solution, and didn't pit staff against who supported who, etc.

Yeah- the duds are lousy to work with. I just was glad they didn't come home with me, and I didn't live in their world. But mandating mood is a bit silly- and impossible. Fakes = lie in my book.....can't trust 'em. At least with the duds not being fake, you know what you get.... or figure out some way to get rid of them that's legit. Don't shoot the whole crowd, and see who's left standing :)

I hate punitive stuff passed out to the whole staff. Deal with the individual duds, and leave the rest out of it. If a bunch of strangers are getting 'intense' about this :D think about how it's going to be at work for the OP with her co-workers. Glad I'm not there....:eek:

I used to have a ball at work (and when I stopped having a decent time - didn't have to be a big picnic- but at least socially pleasant and worth more than the headaches it caused) I went elsewhere. I was lucky. Most of the places I worked were "perky" enough to drive the duds nuts, so they just left.... The duds couldn't stand it. They couldn't wait to quit. And we were happy they felt that way- more merriment was had by all (but one). :up:

JMO :)

That would be my mentality too. When I stop having fun at work or even a pleasant experience and it starts to be more bad days then good, then it's time to move on.

I do agree that a general policy wouldn't be fitting in something like this. But I also think that something needs to start being done regarding these particular people I have talked about because of how toxic it can be for a whole unit. People need to start being accountable for their behavior. (again, talking about the chronic people, not the once in a while bad day).

I am very happy with majority of the co-workers I have. But there is one that is an extremely manipulative person and being new I have been able to sit back and see her in action. I have had to spend a lot of time with her. She is a very toxic person in a different way then doom and gloom, but a lot of people don't even see it because she is so manipulative and they don't see how she is playing everyone. Very much like those borderline personality patients. But I can honestly say I have never had a job I didn't have fun at. The job itself might not have been great or might have been mundane. But I always had fun with a group of co-workers that made me enjoy going to work. I feel like now I have great co-workers (except for the one) and a job I actually enjoy. So most times I don't mind going to work. The only time I dread it is when I know I am working with the one person. If anything sometimes I am just tired so wouldn't mind a day off but other then that, I love what I do. I have always been a glass half full type of person though besides my rare little funks I get in when I need a day to feel sorry for myself. LOL I try to make the best out of any situation so when I am faced with one of these people it makes it especially hard because I don't like being surrounded by the negativity.

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