On my off days, I make sure that I am getting plenty of rest, because I am a nurse and my duties at the floor requires my full attention.
So when I have to come in during my "off days" so that one of you who mysteriously calls out sick for the entire weekend, placing a call on Friday afternoon saying that you will be sick on Saturday and Sunday..
have no doubt that you have caused ill feelings and I hope that your words will come true for you. ?
I'm just not mean enough to place a "sick call" on the day that you're scheduled to be "on call." Maybe I would, but no..I'm not that mean. Although, it would be sweet. To see a cluster of your "off days," and placing a sick call just to get even with you.
But I live with a honor system. So what do I do? I join Allnurses to rant my feelings here.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
Holding people accountable to attendance is, like, the EASIEST discipline task of a manager (because it's black and white, rather than performance or personality issues, which are a lot more murky and subjective).
Keep in mind, however, that management may indeed going through the corrective action/disciplinary process with these frequent caller-outers. It's not like they can talk to you about it. It's also possible that these people may have an intermittent FMLA case that is protecting them. Again, it's not something management can share with you.
I'm just feeling a bit sad. As I have stated, I take my rest-and work balance seriously, and my schedule is set for threes in a row that I need my rest.
Thank you for the comment.
I hope such jerks that contribute to staff stress will literally fall ill as they have so proudly proclaimed. If what they say is true, then they have nothing to worry about. If their words speak falsely about their illness, may their false words become reality for themselves.
It's such an insidious issue and the person calling off may or may not realize just what a problem it is...not only does it affect the performance of the one calling out all the time (after all, if they're not at work, they're not helping the flow) but their attendance issues also affect workplace morale and, eventually, the attendance of others. I've heard of nurses pulling the "tit for tat" routine ("well, they always call out on my time off without repercussions, so I'm going to start doing the same thing to them"). Sometimes there are no repercussions for them as well, other times the behind the scenes disciplinary action that @klone mentioned then affects both nurses. For me, I ended up picking up the slack so frequently for my coworker who was rarely there (it was just the two of us and the doc) that I became so run down physically, mentally, and emotionally that I was legitimately frequently out sick (I was in an abusive relationship outside of work that no one knew about, on top of all this work BS) until I was given the option of quitting or being fired. Not my finest moment, but it taught me the necessity of boundaries (as in, knowing when to say I can't come in on my days off).
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
On 4/27/2019 at 7:22 PM, KonichiwaRN said:
I hope such jerks that contribute to staff stress will literally fall ill as they have so proudly proclaimed. If what they say is true, then they have nothing to worry about. If their words speak falsely about their illness, may their false words become reality for themselves.
That's kind of a *** sentiment, regardless of their actions. Wishing ill upon others is...odd.
Particularly since you've said it multiple times in this thread. Yeah, we get it. You hope your coworkers come down with the plague.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
FWIW, when I do provide disciplinary action to staff for attendance issues, I always mention that frequent call-outs affect staff morale and the attitudes of one's coworkers towards the person. Hoping to appeal to their sense of virtue or teamwork. Sometimes it works.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
I don't know - does your facility call them "sick days" or are they simply called PTO days, and are categorized as planned/scheduled/excused (not subject to disciplinary action) and unplanned/unscheduled/unexcused (which are subject to disciplinary action)?
If a person is really ill, it's quite likely that they already know they aren't going to be well for a few days. At least this way, your department has a bit more warning with which to try to fill the shift, rather than scrambling 2 hours beforehand.
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
I hated it when they'd call in late Saturday night for their Sunday morning shift slurring their words, leading me to conclude they were suffering from the bottle flu. The first nice day in spring is also a time for call-ins who sniffle loudly and fake-cough into the phone. It's not like every weekend call-in isn't legit, but a pattern of it gives rise to suspicion. I used to have one med aide who started calling in regularly on Friday afternoons for her Friday and Saturday night shifts; turned out she was working weekends at a strip joint for extra money. I felt sorry for her, but when you sign on for floor work in health care you agree to working weekends and holidays, and I gave her the choice of staying employed with us, or not. She chose not. Heck, she probably made a lot more money stripping than she was making as a med aide in an assisted living facility.
KonichiwaRN
159 Posts
Placing a call on a Friday, to call out sick for the coming Saturday and Sunday..
is sending red flags all over the place..just like a person with sugar checks starting to slur in speech.
If the call came on a Saturday for Saturday..and Sunday for a Sunday, then yes. That would be understandable.