Do you have a Weasel at work?

Nurses General Nursing

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We have a unit secretary that I have a secret name for and it is the "Weasel". This name reflects the fact that she spends a great deal of time weaseling in with people in managment positions. Knows them all by name, jumps up to glad hand them every chance she gets. She also does a lot of personal favors for managment people especially the nurse manager. Everyone knows to be careful what is said in front of her because managment will hear it from her and again carrying tales is a way of weaseling in with managment. I would be very impressed with a manager that was not fooled by this stuff but I have yet to meet one that wasn't. It does a lot of damage because inevitably the weasel will dodge real work every chance she gets. Everyday when she leaves charts with orders stacked a mile high sit waiting for the next shift. She loves the phone but not to do unit business. She is yacking to family and friends constantly and her children seem to think they can call anytime about the stupidest things. Even when she takes her two hour lunches they continue to call and the staff had to take the calls. These behaviors pay off because she is in as tight as you can get with the bosses. They like being kissed up to so much they are not about to do anything about her. :stone

Specializes in Level 2 and 3 NICU, outpt peds.
Yes it seems every job I have had has one or more weasels. I just keep my mouth shut at work these days. It's just not safe to speak your mind at work anymore. At my fairly new job, the DON comes to different staff members and says "I received a complaint about you." She hasn't received a complaint about me yet but I'm sure I will accidently open my mouth one of these days and speak my mind. :o

my nm used this tactic, never any specifics so you could determine what interaction had occurred and how to remedy the situation. I'm and old time nurse/person and can figure out whether I was appropriate or not but not without knowing what is was I said or did! Was told I overreacted to another nurse's telling me they were coding a baby in the DR, nursie said she never told me that it was a code. Numerous complaints from this person,wasn't ever allowed to "tell my side." NM decided I was at fault in all of these interactions. Ah,well on to another, perhaps better life. :p

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I gotta say this and will probably get flamed for it but here goes:

I was called a brown noser for something others did not understand. My old manager and I used to hang together quite a lot but the deal was she and I became really good friends. we used to do lots of things together like taking our kids camping stuff like that. And it was hurtful to hear the things the rest of the staff said. Upper managment eventually said something to her and socially we had to back off and I felt like I had lost a close friends because of it. I just thought it was petty and underhanded the way it was handled.

Okay that is all I have

Sorry this happened to you, and I agree that this is extremely petty.

As long as you were doing your job well, not gossiping about work, and the manager was doing her job without bias it should have not been an issue.

There are situations everywhere with "weasels" who are not doing their job and only trying to get others in trouble thru fake boss friendships.

But labeling all boss/employee friendships as such is petty.

Unless you are directly being affected by a situation, then gossiping about it and/or insinuating that "there must be something more to this" is certainly not supporting your fellow health care team members.

If a true "weasel" exists, and isn't supported with ammunition, they will go away pretty quickly. Do your job, support the team and concentrate on what really matters, your patients.

Hugs!

MaryRose

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This so-called weasel is NOT doing her job and it should be documented and she should be fired.

No one would last where I work if they acted like that.

Stop allowing her to get away with murder. Like Marie said, she is violating the job description. Leaving a pile of charts with orders is unexcusable. As is all the other stuff.

All fire-able offenses in my opinion.

steph

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Specializes in Medical/Surgical/Maternal and Child.
I think it's very inappropriate to hang out with your manager; it creates bad feelings for the rest of the staff, even though you don't mean for it to. This may just be me, but, I don't like workplace fraternization between a manager and one nurse she/he directly supervises......we had one a manager who made friends with one of our young nurses, and it did not earn her respect from the rest of the staff.

Now, going to lunch or dinner or some other social event, as a group, I can see. Hanging out and making best friends with one nurse is not a good idea for any manager. I know you did not mean to be a brown-noser, being her friend, but that is the perception other staff get anyhow, when such relationships form in the workplace. It's not fair, but it is business.

If you are that close to your manager, -----you are truly friends, it's probably best for everyone, for you to move a another unit where she/he is not directly supervising you. Then, no one would care if you were friends or not. I am sorry you were hurt. Upper management/administration probably DID say something to the manager, as you suspect. It's about what is appropriate in the workplace, and what is not.

One of my life long policies is to never mix business with pleasure and socialize with the people I work with, after hours!!!! :uhoh21:

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One of my life long policies is to never mix business with pleasure and socialize with the people I work with, after hours!!!! :uhoh21:

That's a bit of a problem if you live in a town of 600 people and work at a small rural hospital. :chuckle

steph

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That's a bit of a problem if you live in a town of 600 people and work at a small rural hospital. :chuckle

steph

Keep you friends close and your enemies closer........ that what I 've heard.....

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Specializes in Medical/Surgical/Maternal and Child.
That's a bit of a problem if you live in a town of 600 people and work at a small rural hospital. :chuckle

steph

Been there, done that Steph, I used to live in a very small town up in Sierra County. Lived there for 16 years after I got married. It was a nice friendly town where everyone knew everyone else or was related to everyone else. Loved the fact that it was nice and quiet but didn't like the fact that everyone knew everyone's business and the hospital where I worked at was a hot bed of gossip. No confidentiality there. That's why I saw providers in Reno instead.

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Been there, done that Steph, I used to live in a very small town up in Sierra County. Lived there for 16 years after I got married. It was a nice friendly town where everyone knew everyone else or was related to everyone else. Loved the fact that it was nice and quiet but didn't like the fact that everyone knew everyone's business and the hospital where I worked at was a hot bed of gossip. No confidentiality there. That's why I saw providers in Reno instead.

My doctors are out of town too. :)

steph

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
One of my life long policies is to never mix business with pleasure and socialize with the people I work with, after hours!!!! :uhoh21:

I agree.

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Who doesn't? LOL, yep unfortunately there are always people like that no matter where you work. Atleast, you know what you are dealing with and what the story is with this person. It's the ones that pretend to like you and then go behind your back that I'd worry about. I always think that when I hear somebody talking about another person but when in front of that person they act buddy buddy, this kind of person probably does the same thing to me. I tend to not say anything and walk away because I don't want to get caught up in all the bull. Just be careful of what you say in front of this person since people like that tend to take a completely innocent conversation and turn in around, then the drama begins.

JUDE

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Jude, i know what you mean about a person who is so sweet in front of you and talks about everyone else have a nurse that i have to work with every week get a ha wondering what she is up to..so far i have not come under her axe but you can get paranoid just waiting for the boot to fall

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I know you did not mean to be a brown-noser,

I know you didn't mean it that way, but that was just TOO funny!:rotfl:

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