MORALE

Nurses General Nursing

Published

  1. Recently our unit has experienced a mass exodus leading to a decrease in morale, any suggestions on non costly ways for improving unit satisfaction?

Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.

Our hospital recently started a "project" to try to promote nursing taking ownership of their unit. Complete with a hashtag catch phrase and everything. Unfortunately, it came across to many as "take ownership of making things run smoothly despite staffing issues, poor communication, and low morale!"

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

If you really care about why the exodus, start asking employees why they are leaving when they tell you they are. Start talking to those who seem willing to stay what can be done to increase their confidence in leadership actually caring about them.

That all costs exactly ZERO dollars.

I have left jobs d/t lousy management. I have yet to be asked to stay, let alone why I left. They didn't care.

Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
Our hospital recently started a "project" to try to promote nursing taking ownership of their unit. Complete with a hashtag catch phrase and everything. Unfortunately, it came across to many as "take ownership of making things run smoothly despite staffing issues, poor communication, and low morale!"

In order for nursing to take "ownership", management first has to relinquish certain things. What they really mean is, they want to stay in complete control and have nursing take the blame for anything that doesn't go well.

Morale is low where I'm at too. Thank goodness I'm prn and have laid off of picking up as much as I used to.... now down to minimum required. How about high patient turn over coupled with high nurse to patient ratios doesn't lead to good outcomes...complaints and what have you. Cutting of the differentials or any incentive compensation coupled with already below average compensation. Add in the new way of cost saving by always reducing or putting staff "on call" add in the fact that you love an hour away and if called in you have to be on the unit within 30 minutes.... so essentially have to still pay for daycare and gas to drive to the city and putz around until they decide to call you in or reduce you. Just in my area alone the nursing homes, home health, hospice, virtually anywhere but the hospital pays nearly $10 more per hour and have a more regular schedule well you get the idea. So it's no wonder hospitals can't keep staff...unless of course you are single with no kids or life and like to live your life around the hospital.

Here we have management/ administration joining a nursing forum... in order to use us some more.

There are NO "non costly ways" to improve morale! Give us adequate pay and adequate staffing and we will be satisfied.

Specializes in Travel, Home Health, Med-Surg.
Maybe if you throw in a coupon for $5 in the hospital cafeteria (only redeemable on weekdays during lunch hours).

I once got a coupon from management for a free cookie in the cafeteria, noticed it was expired but the NM said it would still work, went over there but of course they wouldn't take it, gee thanks management, I feel sooo special now!!

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