Has the staffing clerk ever made you feel guilty of calling in "sick"?

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Specializes in ACE.

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The other day we had a snow storm. My small Civic with Winter tires was not able to plow through the snow. I got stuck - I tried many times. I called work about 5 hours before my shift started to give them time. The clerk was like, "You should have purchased an AWD vehicle with all the money you make. Everyone is calling in today because of the weather. We are short staffed and you are contributing to it. You are putting me in a bad position but hey at least you get paid right?"

Thing is, my vehicle cannot even leave the driveway. There is a shortage of snow plow trucks/salt trucks due to Covid so it will take longer. Public transit routes are cancelled. How is it my fault?

They really make us feel bad at work. I have 15 sick days to use. I live 22 KM from work, not far at all. But when I have to slow down and be more careful and risk getting stuck, that will feel like driving more than 22 KM. Aren't I not entitled to it? And I gave them plenty of time too. Can I report this to the manager?

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).

Short answer, DK:

No one can make us feel any certain way, for we are the one's responsible for how we feel or react, and to some we are merely means to an end or a stumbling block in the path to their goal.

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Specializes in ACE.
8 minutes ago, Davey Do said:

Short answer, DK:

No one can make us feel any certain way, for we are the one's responsible for how we feel or react, and to some we are merely means to an end or a stumbling block in the path to their goal.

literally make us feel guilty and that we are putting the patient at risk when we call in. Yet what about our life?

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
On 1/17/2022 at 11:15 AM, DK123 said:

literally make us feel guilty and that we are putting the patient at risk when we call in. Yet what about our life?

A manipulation ploy and no one can make us feel any way we don't choose to feel. To react otherwise is to give another control over our lives.

Also, guilt is a reaction to one of the two basic emotions, being love and fear. We feel guilty, in this case out of fear. Fear for getting in trouble, fear of losing our job, fear of what others will think about us, etc.

Jung said something along the lines of, "Embrace your fears, for there your soul will grow". 

Blaming others for how we feel is stagnated growth.

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Specializes in ACE.
On 1/17/2022 at 11:24 AM, Davey Do said:

A manipulation ploy and no one can make us feel any way we don't choose to feel. To react otherwise is to give another control over our lives.

Also, guilt is a reaction to one of the two basic emotions, being love and fear. We feel guilty, in this case out of fear. Fear for getting in trouble, fear of losing our job, fear of what others will think about us, etc.

Jung said something along the lines of, "Embrace your fears, for there your soul will grow". 

Blaming others for how we feel is stagnated growth.

Thanks Dave

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On 1/17/2022 at 10:45 AM, DK123 said:

the other day we had. a snow storm, and my small Civic with Winter tires was not able to plow through the snow, I got stuck I even tried many times. I called work about 5 hours before my shift started to give them time the clerk was like "you should have purchased an AWD vehicle with all the money you make. Everyone is calling in today because of the weather, we are short staffed and you are contributing to it, you are putting me in a bad position but hey at least you get paid right?". Thing is, my vehicle cannot even leave the driveway, there is a shortage of snow plow trucks/salt trucks due to Covid so it will take longer. Public transit some routes are cancelled. How is it my fault? They really make us feel bad at work. But I checked my status, I had 15 sick days to use. I live 22 KM from work, not far at all. But when I have to slow down and be more careful and risk getting stuck, that will feel like driving more than 22 KM. Aren't I not entitled to it? And I gave them plenty of time too. Can I report this to the manager?

This staffing clerk went waaay out there. Telling you what kind of car you should have bought?

I understand the clerk was overwhelmed with the snow emergency. She/ he  only needed to take your call off and move it on up the chain.  They are the clerk/ messenger... you are the professional. Clerks have no  right to lecture you.

I called off once, when a tree fell on my house. Staffing clerk then  LIED and said I was not within my 24 hour call in frame. I still must report for duty.  NO compassion for my personal disaster, Their only concern was staffing. With a NASTY tone of voice.

Write  it up..see what happens.

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Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.

People taking the calls during weather events are definitely stressed, but if you are one of MANY people calling out, clearly you are not the sole source of their problem. There was no reason for that people to speak to you in such a manner and to suggest that you should purchase a vehicle THEY find acceptable is ridiculous. If you can't get there, you can't get there. Move on without guilt. 

On a side note, we are able to call local law enforcement to a ride to work in a weather event. I haven't taken advantage of this before, but I have a friend who was dropped off by the local fire department twice in the past. I'm sure it depends on how busy they are as well, but this friend lived close to the station and our workplace. 

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On 1/17/2022 at 11:24 AM, Davey Do said:

A manipulation ploy and no one can make us feel any way we don't choose to feel. To react otherwise is to give another control over our lives.

Also, guilt is a reaction to one of the two basic emotions, being love and fear. We feel guilty, in this case out of fear. Fear for getting in trouble, fear of losing our job, fear of what others will think about us, etc.

Jung said something along the lines of, "Embrace your fears, for there your soul will grow". 

Blaming others for how we feel is stagnated growth.

People get too caught up in wording. Yes, OP was treated poorly. Gaslighting stagnates growth, and you’re oversimplifying things with your statement. It’s entirely unhelpful. Yes, OP. You were mistreated. Now, as Davey was getting at, as I’m sure you know, our emotions are our responsibility. Your self esteem is going to determine your emotions to being mistreated. And yes, you were mistreated. So, you have to examine that and put up boundaries and be OK with the response you’re going to get. It takes a lot of work to be able to get to that point of mental health, of KNOWING you’re going to ruffle feathers, and be at peace with it. It’s unhelpful to state, “you just gotta have good mental health.” The work it takes, and the privilege of having support shouldn’t be understated or ignored.

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Specializes in CMSRN, hospice.

While I do think it's important to make an effort to show up during weather events in our kind of jobs, that clerk was way out of line! It sounds like you clearly did try to get to work. And telling you what kind of car you should buy is just ridiculous and not helpful. I made it work and back last night with myself and the car intact, but it was awful, and I wouldn't expect any of my coworkers to put their lives at risk under the circumstances.

I think the best you can do is just remember why you called out: it was extremely unsafe for you to drive, despite your efforts. You won't have the approval of others when you call out for weather, but that doesn't mean it was the wrong choice. Reach a point where you've accepted your decision, and this person's words won't mean as much.

As an aside, I wish more hospitals and facilities would make more of an effort to accommodate their workers during snowstorms. At minimum, they should have places for people to sleep so they can come in early or leave after the roads improve. I know my hospital got hotel rooms for some people, but they made you decide days in advance if you wanted that, and the hotel was still miles away, so everyone had driving to do regardless. It was considerate to do that, but didn't end up being very practical.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Corrections.

Where I live in northeast Ohio where we got hit with two feet of snow overnight the Staffing office was sending out text messages Sunday afternoon offering Monday dayshift staff a place to stay within the hospital on Sunday night so they could be at work on Monday morning. When I left for work Sunday night at 6 PM there was no snow but I watched it snow heavily overnight and it never quit.

The employee parking lot was ridiculous. I do have an all wheel drive and I was lucky that I was able to get out of the hot mess that was our employee parking lot, let alone get down the 2 feet of snow that covered my side street at 7 AM. I also only live 4 miles from where I work.

I live in the snow belt and knowing that,  I always have a vehicle that is either four wheel or all wheel drive and my all wheel drive is what enabled me to get home this morning in Snowmageddon!

That said the staffing coordinator was way over line with her remarks!

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
21 hours ago, DK123 said:

literally make us feel guilty and that we are putting the patient at risk when we call in. Yet what about our life?

What Davey said "It is a spiritual axiom that no one can cause you to feel a certain way." When we feel angry or guilty about something that is because we allow ourselves to feel that way. Perhaps your guilt stems from the fact that you were not in fact "Sick".  This does not mean that you weren't stuck but most of my friends in the snow belt tell me that being "Snowed in" is not considered a valid excuse for calling off. Perhaps you should invest in a car that is better able to handle the weather. 

Hppy

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Specializes in ER.

The most recent storm we had left my driveway with a four foot drift, and I'd have to wait for help to get out. I tend to be on the extreme end of getting in to work despite bad weather. It's smart to say you cant get out right now but if x happens ( your driveway is plowed, your road is plowed, cabs are available) you will try again. Let them know you didn't just look out the window and say "nope!" and go back to a warm bed.

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