How Do You Politely Communicate With Employees That You Aren't Available?

[SilverBells, BSN]

For anyone in a managerial (leadership, supervisorial) role, what tips do you have in regards to communicating to employees that you are not available for questions or that you are working on something that requires no disruptions? 

Today, as ADON, I was pretty much the only member of the leadership team present at work. The executive director was gone, the DON was gone, both social workers were gone, the health unit coordinators were gone, one unit manager was pulled to the floor and the other unit manager left halfway through the day. I didn't appreciate so many people being gone on one day, because that meant I got dumped on, but that's another story.  

My office is now in the basement, but I do spend most of my time upstairs completing various duties and helping out the staff on the floor. However, sometimes there are simply times when I have work that needs to be completed undisturbed, so I do go back to my office in the basement. I've noticed that this really isn't an effective measure in getting things done uninterrupted, however, as people continuously come down anyways. 

Today was especially horrific--I must have had at least 8 interruptions when I was down in my office for various requests. It was during this time that I was completing some important reporting that comes with my position. All of these requests were things that the staff should have been able to handle on their own, such as contacting maintenance for cold water in a room or a telephone not working; wondering how to make a TV remote work; a patient had purulent drainage from a wound, and instead of contacting the provider, the nurse came to me instead; someone might not be able to come to work tomorrow if they aren't able to find a ride, and it went on and on. I finally had to leave some work for next week unfinished because I was getting so irritated by the constant interruptions.  Not to mention I was quite annoyed with all of the other members of management who somehow were able to have the entire day off or, at the very least, work in the peace of their own homes. 

I had originally thought about blocking my office door with a large piece of furniture, but thought better of it, knowing it was probably a fire and/or fall hazard. I've also thought about bringing in a lamp that I can have at my desk to complete work, while turning off the overhead lights so, from the outside, I don't appear to be in the room. 

What are some other suggestions or ways to indicate to staff that, while I do want to help them, that sometimes I need to complete my work uninterrupted and am not currently available for questions?   

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

You need to set firm boundaries. This means you need to be up front: "I have requirements to complete. Please do not disturb me unless there is an emergency for the next XX" Blocking a door? Using a lamp instead of overhead lights to make it look like you're not in your office? These are not effective leadership communication strategies.

[Davey Do]

Well, you could hang a sign on your closed office door:

[Daisy4RN]

I would definitely not use the measures you have suggested so far to keep people away. First it is very unprofessional and second it would deter people from coming if there was a real emergency. Do these people know the procedures for the issues you describe, maybe an in-service is due here. For instance, what is the procedure for contacting maintenance. One place I worked had a log where people would write the issue and maintenance would come by periodically and check, or for more urgent issues one could call maintenance and document it on said log sheet. Do they know who to contact for call offs, was it you bc you were the one in charge. Have you tried talking to them in the morning about what is expected for the day and flat out told them not to disturb you. Either way if you are the go-to person for the day I think you will have to expect some interruptions, albeit maybe not so many. Maybe you need to have a conversation with your boss and tell them it is not likely your paperwork will be done bc of the situation. You can only do so much. 

[klone, MSN, RN]

I actually have a sign similar to what Davey Do posted, that I hang on my door for when I'm in there with my door closed.  It has a front and back. The front says "Not doing anything super important, feel free to knock." The back says "Please do not interrupt. Unless the building is on fire, then you can interrupt." 

Lighthearted and humorous, but gets the message across. The key is that the vast majority of the time, my door is open when I'm in there, so people know that I'm generally available. That way, they know that if the "do not disturb" sign is up, they know if they wait a bit I will soon be available and they will be less likely to disturb me for non-emergent reasons. Because they know I am available to them 90% of the time. 

[vintagegal, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

Silver bell, instead of tackling all the worlds issues, foster their growth and importance by delegation. When they come to you about a specific issue, ask them what their plan is. “Telephone not working? Hmm that is a problem, what is your idea to solve this? Who should you call? What do you think should be done about it?” Once you turn over the question to them, eventually they will get the idea. Make a protocol, like three before me, in which they have to ask a fellow nurse, look it up, and find the policy before coming to you. If you are the “keystone” individual they are coming to you because they know you will deal with it. It is easier to dump it on you than to deal with it themselves. Don’t make it cozy and comfortable to do so.

[klone, MSN, RN]

2 hours ago, vintagegal said:

Make a protocol, like three before me, in which they have to ask a fellow nurse, look it up, and find the policy before coming to you. 

That is brilliant.

Silverbells, with all gentleness, I would suggest that you have fostered and encouraged this behavior by being the person who has to do all of it, and who is the only one who can do it right. So now, you have created employees who go to you for EVERYTHING, rather than being encouraged to figure it out for themselves.

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

1 hour ago, klone said:

That is brilliant.

Silverbells, with all gentleness, I would suggest that you have fostered and encouraged this behavior by being the person who has to do all of it, and who is the only one who can do it right. So now, you have created employees who go to you for EVERYTHING, rather than being encouraged to figure it out for themselves.

Reflect on your leadership style to see if you are a mommy manager.

[mtmkjr, BSN]

My door stays open the majority of the time. If I'm there, I am available for whatever comes up. I know it's frustrating to have to keep pushing things off, but it's the nature of the job.

I do sometimes tell the charge nurse to minimize interruptions, that doesn't stop everyone from coming by but it does help. 

If there is something so time sensitive that I need  uninterrupted time, then I work from home.  I guess our management team has good communication in place that we look out for each other and make sure we have the space to do what we need to do. 

I can't imagine feeling so helpless. If I was ever desperate, I would just make a broad announcement to everyone that *I am here but not here". They would respect that. 

[RNperdiem, RN]

Do a pre-emptive strike.

1. Block off a reasonable time frame to take care of whatever admin duties you have to complete without interruption.

2. Let the staff know in advance that you will be unavailable during this specific time period for any routine issues. Ask them if they have anything that needs to be addressed now. 

3. When your closed-door admin time is done, go and check on the staff and make sure all is well and handle issues then. If your staff knows what to expect they can be trained. 

[GI Nurse Em]

I can see where that is frustrating, but according your your original post, you are often up helping; potentially that is seen as micromanaging. Maybe your employees think they don’t have the autonomy to make those decisions or carry out those tasks on their own.   If the phones when down while you were upstairs helping, would they ask you or take care of it on their own?  You teach your employees what is expected of them by your actions.  If they are not acting the way you want, then it’s likely on you. 

[klone, MSN, RN]

17 minutes ago, GI Nurse Em said:

 You teach your employees what is expected of them by your actions.  If they are not acting the way you want, then it’s likely on you. 

You don't know the half of it. Unfortunately, the OP has a years-long history of micromanaging her employees, per her posts here.