Advice? The Ole' Bait & Switch (bonus shift)

[K. Everly, BSN, RN]

Can someone tell me if I'm overreacting? How do I keep this from happening again? I work in the hospital on a closed inpatient unit. Rather than self-schedule, we have master patterns that repeat monthly and we pick up on-call to fill gaps. I say the above to say that we rarely get bonus shift opportunities.

Today our HUC/scheduler just asked me to swap my 4/7 shift to work 4/5 instead, and just to be nice I said yes. It didn't really help or hurt me to do so. Within 1 hour of making the swap, she announces that she is opening a bonus pay shift on 4/5 for any RN willing to pick it up who is already going to meet their FT hours for the week.

I'm kind of pissed off. I would have rather kept my 4/7 and picked up 4/5 as a bonus shift. I get that her job is to balance the schedule but how do I keep this from happening again, just stop being flexible altogether? I'm not trying to be doomsday about the whole thing but it really felt like a bait and switch & at a time when it's so hard to keep staff, I can't understand why they behave this way. 

[K. Everly, BSN, RN]

In case more context is at all helpful, the way bonus shift on my floor works, which is really unconventional (and not ideal), is that you sign-up for the bonus shift but it's basically another ON-CALL slot. 

So, if the floor is short that night, they will utilize regular on-call first (we all have to sign up for a set amount of on-call every month) and if they are still short they will call in the bonus shift nurse. BUT, if you sign up for bonus and they don't end up using you, you still get $100 just for signing up for it. 

This is why I feel like I can't talk to other nurses on my unit about it, because they would prefer another nurse just swaps for that shift than pick up bonus, since that means the regular pay on-call nurse will get called in before the bonus on-call nurse actually comes in (if at all). 

[JKL33]

The classic thing they used to do was guilt people into picking up extra shifts earlier in the pay period and then, as the shifts later in the pay period approached, canceling them so that they wouldn't earn the OT they otherwise would have accrued when they pay period finished out.

I know that's not like your situation, I mention it in order to get to the topic of wanting to be nice; being a good, flexible little helper who will go out of their way. When we do that, we do subconsciously expect something in return--usually money but also even just a little bit of goodwill. If nothing else we want to be thought of as good; want to be liked.

Well...at the end of the day that is a "me" problem. Ask me how I know.

It's a whole different world to not do things for ^ those reasons. It eliminates so much negative energy and is also empowering.

If they are looking at all of this from a business perspective (and they *are*--which is why they did what they just did in your scenario) then go ahead and do exact same. Make an offer and give people the opportunity to accept it. If they don't want to well that's fine, they can call the next person. ??‍♀️ After I figured this out I frequently bartered to my own advantage. A lot of times I got what I wanted and sometimes I didn't, but either way I never felt bad or guilty any more. It's pretty simple: If people ask you for something that is business-related, go sit at their business table. We feel like crap because we keep sitting at the "generous helper" table, and they're never gonna join us.

I say your situation is lesson learned. Optionally, you could also give some immediate feedback like,  "...guess I won't be switching next time. Looks like it left me out of the bonus opportunity" or "So that swap eliminated me from the bonus opportunity. Plan on calling someone else next time."

[Okami_CCRN, BSN, RN]

I have had this happen once to twice before, to remedy the situation I only make changes that benefit my schedule. When asked to make changes or pick up extra I ask if they are offering any incentives; depending on the answer I either accept or decline. 

I also want to stress the importance of a healthy work/life balance, only do what is beneficial for yourself; it is not your job to staff the unit. 

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

On 4/5/2022 at 1:15 PM, JKL33 said:

The classic thing they used to do was guilt people into picking up extra shifts earlier in the pay period and then, as the shifts later in the pay period approached, canceling them so that they wouldn't earn the OT they otherwise would have accrued when they pay period finished out.

I know that's not like your situation, I mention it in order to get to the topic of wanting to be nice; being a good, flexible little helper who will go out of their way. When we do that, we do subconsciously expect something in return--usually money but also even just a little bit of goodwill. If nothing else we want to be thought of as good; want to be liked.

Well...at the end of the day that is a "me" problem. Ask me how I know.

It's a whole different world to not do things for ^ those reasons

A lot of times I got what I wanted and sometimes I didn't, but either way I never felt bad or guilty any more. It's pretty simple: If people ask you for something that is business-related, go sit at their business table. We feel like crap because we keep sitting at the "generous helper" table, and they're never gonna join us.

An interesting way to look at it- thank you for sharing this perspective.

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

2 hours ago, JKL33 said:

We feel like crap because we keep sitting at the "generous helper" table, and they're never gonna join us.

Oh so well stated! This is a lesson I continually "learn" and yet I keep going back for the same treatment. I eventually reframed my own outlook on when I do things like pick up and swap to help others. I tell myself that whatever change was made I did for my patients and my coworkers ON THE FLOOR- I don't do anything for management because they wouldn't go out of their way for me. Am I a sucker? Probably. I read comments by many nurses that clearly have learned better ways to stick up for themselves, and protect their licenses, because especially in the last couple years I've had some completely unsafe assignments along with some situations that are just annoying. But, I keep going back, so I am aware I'm part of the problem in a way. 

K.Everly, I'm sorry that happened to you and I would definitely mention to the manager that in the future I would not be interested in switch opportunities while others get an incentive. Sometimes those of us that work hard at being "team players" end up with the short end of the stick. 

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

What a weird and unnecessarily complicated scheduling system!  Does the requirement of signing up for a number of on-call shifts obligate you at any point to take an open shift whether you want it or not?  Even before any potential bonus shifts are on the table that alone would annoy the heck out of me

[2BS Nurse, BSN]

Martyr syndrome is marked by self-sacrifice and service to others at your own expense. Administration knows how to spot said martyrs and will ask them to take on extra hours, projects, meetings, etc. It's hard to work with a martyr because she/he sets unrealistic expectations for the rest of the unit. The martyr will then complain that nobody is helping her/him. Administration's strategy is to pit one HCW against another. Don't fall into this trap!

 

You've just learned that your employer has exactly zero reservations about taking advantage of your willingness to help them out.  I would encourage you in the future to ONLY switch or add shifts at the employers request IF they will agree to paying you the bonus or some other arrangement that is directly benefiting you.  

[K. Everly, BSN, RN]

On 4/5/2022 at 1:15 PM, JKL33 said:

The classic thing they used to do was guilt people into picking up extra shifts earlier in the pay period and then, as the shifts later in the pay period approached, canceling them so that they wouldn't earn the OT they otherwise would have accrued when they pay period finished out.

I know that's not like your situation, I mention it in order to get to the topic of wanting to be nice; being a good, flexible little helper who will go out of their way. When we do that, we do subconsciously expect something in return--usually money but also even just a little bit of goodwill. If nothing else we want to be thought of as good; want to be liked.

Well...at the end of the day that is a "me" problem. Ask me how I know.

It's a whole different world to not do things for ^ those reasons. It eliminates so much negative energy and is also empowering.

If they are looking at all of this from a business perspective (and they *are*--which is why they did what they just did in your scenario) then go ahead and do exact same. Make an offer and give people the opportunity to accept it. If they don't want to well that's fine, they can call the next person. ??‍♀️ After I figured this out I frequently bartered to my own advantage. A lot of times I got what I wanted and sometimes I didn't, but either way I never felt bad or guilty any more. It's pretty simple: If people ask you for something that is business-related, go sit at their business table. We feel like crap because we keep sitting at the "generous helper" table, and they're never gonna join us.

I say your situation is lesson learned. Optionally, you could also give some immediate feedback like,  "...guess I won't be switching next time. Looks like it left me out of the bonus opportunity" or "So that swap eliminated me from the bonus opportunity. Plan on calling someone else next time."

Brilliant. So true. 

I made another mistake recently in swapping with a coworker who then had the opportunity to help me make a swap and didn't. 

I think I made the switch to at least garner some goodwill with the scheduler but it doesn't work that way. This is a business relationship solely, and the lesson has now been learned. 

I thought about providing the immediate feedback you mentioned but decided against it. My counselor always says "be the coyote." Keep your cards close to your vest and keep it moving. They won't suspect when the time was right you were not the right one to burn. 

[K. Everly, BSN, RN]

On 4/9/2022 at 7:03 AM, toomuchbaloney said:

You've just learned that your employer has exactly zero reservations about taking advantage of your willingness to help them out. 

Mic drop. ?

Yep. I like my managers but they are directly in between helping me out and helping out the higher-ups, and the higher up's hold their jobs in their hands, while I'm really just another body to fill the space for them. 

I have to remember, helping profession aside, this is a profession and a business relationship. I owe them nothing more than my job description entails. 

[K. Everly, BSN, RN]

On 4/7/2022 at 5:54 AM, kbrn2002 said:

What a weird and unnecessarily complicated scheduling system!  Does the requirement of signing up for a number of on-call shifts obligate you at any point to take an open shift whether you want it or not?  Even before any potential bonus shifts are on the table that alone would annoy the heck out of me

Yeah our scheduling situation is kind of a nightmare and none of us like it. The only reason we put up with it is because it kind of guarantees us safer nurse/pt ratios. I was an MS/tele float for a short time and we got as many as 9 pts, some of which were more step-down appropriate. And that, as you can imagine, scared the sh*t out of my 5-months in new-grad self. 

We have to sign up for on-call every single month in IPR because we are a closed unit. Every month the sign-up requirement is a little different. We sign up for 4 hour increments/slots and so far I've seen it range between 4 and 8 slots a month. As you can see, that means that bonus shifts rarely open up, and even when they do so many of us are over on-call that we don't even want to sign up for more, especially when the bonus is just another on-call slot essentially and we only get the bonus money if we actually get called in (they use regular call-in before they use the bonus call in nurse anyways). It's confusing.