Is it bad etiquette to accept extra money from a coworker who wants you to take call?

Specialties Operating Room

Published

If a coworker needs someone to work for them or take their call, and they are offering a bonus out of their own pocket, is it bad manners to accept it?

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

I've never heard anyone to get angry about it. The people I know are OK with it.

However, there are tax implications .... So, be careful.

Most people I know trade shifts or favors rather than cash to avoid the taxes.

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If you tell your boss that you and a co-worker want to switch the call schedule, and she agrees. I see nothing wrong with accepting money from a co-worker to take her call. It's a private arrangement. I would not exchange the funds at work, though.

I'm sure my answer will be controversial, but really, I see nothing wrong with it.

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Specializes in Operating Room.

We had a tech that would do this and I took one of these calls-I made $50 extra dollars and didn't feel guilty about it either. These were usually really crappy calls(July 4th for instance) so the money was a nice little incentive.

I'm pleading the 5th on the tax issue....:uhoh21:

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In the interest of team spirit, I'd just trade calls, no money needed. That person will be more willing to do you a favor when you need it sometime. Just my 2cents..

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Specializes in RN- Med/surg.

I see nothing wrong with it...but wouldn't want to accept because what are the chances that person would ever help you out in the future without you offering them money?

That said...I've offered to pay incentives before...I was always lucky enough to have someone take the shift without taking the $$.

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Specializes in Telemetry, Case Management.

Slightly off topic, but I had a co-worker offer me money to come down to her floor (LTC nights) and do a dressing change on a patient whose face was nearly gone from untreated (per his preference) skin cancer. He was awake and concious and talking, and I liked him. She just couldn't handle the "talking hamburger face" (no offense, it was just gross). :o

So two or three nights a week, she'd give me $5 or $10 bucks and I'd go do her dressings. I needed the cash (five small kids at home - this was years ago), and she sat at the desk, my floor told her to call her if anything happened while I was doing the dressing (and nothing ever did).

So, obviously I don't see a problem with someone paying you to take call for them.:twocents:

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I'm pleaseantly surprised by the posts here.

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I see nothing wrong with it but it may be against facility policies and you would have to be careful about that. Also, my facility doesn’t care if people trade or give away call etc… but if the person who accepts it can not do it, it falls back to the original person.

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I wouldn't have a problem taking money for picking up a call day. I've never done it yet and always just traded days if someone needed to switch. However, for Super Bowl Sunday, Christmas, etc. You'd have to add some grease to pick up a day like that for someone.

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but if the person who accepts it can not do it, it falls back to the original person.

Hmmm.. at our place once the switch is made it's cast in stone. I would think that would be awkward to tell someone you'll take their call and then back out. Doesn't that cause any hard feelings ?

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Specializes in Operating Room.
Hmmm.. at our place once the switch is made it's cast in stone. I would think that would be awkward to tell someone you'll take their call and then back out. Doesn't that cause any hard feelings ?
Us too...once you've taken a call for someone, you own it. You can try to give it away as well. It's not unusual for a call to go through 3,4, even 5 people, if it's an undesirable one.
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