For those of you who are in a managerial or supervisory role at work, do you answer work phone calls on your days off, even when you are not on call?
In my role, I work Monday through Friday anywhere from 8-20 hours a day (usually ends up being 16-20). I am not designated as the weekend nurse manager or supervisor.
Yet today, my phone was blown up with calls and text messages from nursing staff wanting assistance with call-ins, how to deal with a fall, and how to handle a verbally abusive patient.
I slept in late this morning, so missed any opportunity to 'assist' with any call-ins. I simply ignored that text message since it was already too late in the day to do anything about.
Later, I got a text message from a nurse wanting to know the steps to take after a fall. Although this nurse has worked at the facility for awhile, they had a question as to who should be contacted. I had no problem answering this question.
After this, I was hoping that any contact from work would end for the day but instead at dinner time, I was called because a patient was being verbally abusive to the point that some of the nursing assistants were too upset to work with her. I really wanted nothing to do with this drama, as it is nothing new, it was my day off to be free from this nonsense, and I am technically not the manager overseeing the care of this abusive individual. Yet, I felt guilty by not responding, so I ended up calling back and spoke with the concerned nurse about possible solutions. I also did recommend calling my colleague/co-manager to see if she had any suggestions since she knows this patient better.
The thing is, all of this communication from work stressed me out on a day that I was supposed to have to myself and work on other things, or just relax for once. I was also not hired to work on weekends or to be on call. My pay/salary does not include compensation for on-call duties since it was not in my original job description. Yet, it seems as if the facility/staff members expects that I am available at any time, any day of the week even though I am not the DON and therefore, not responsible for the facility 24/7.
I really don't mind answering questions or helping out every once in a while, but my work weeks are already long enough without having to be pestered on my days off as well.
OP, you have already acknowledged that you micromanage and get involved in issues and tasks that you do not have to be involved with. You are not a savior, and you are not the only thing preventing the place from collapsing. This attitude, whether it's real or perceived, actually points to the idea that you're not a very good manager. I'm sorry, but it's true. A good manager empowers her staff to take care of issues, and trains them how to do it. A sign of a good manager is that the place runs smoothly, even when she's not around.
I strongly encourage you to do some self-reflection and ask yourself if management is really where your strengths lie. Because based on all your posts, I would say that it's not.
Thanks for saying what I couldn't find the nicer words to say. I'd start typing and it sounded so mean and crass that I couldn't finish.
I also believe that the OP is very attention seeking and/or has self awareness and self esteem issues. It's now beyond cringeworthy.
Is there not a supervisor there on the weekends or a designated on call person from administration? If there is then the only person who should be reaching out to people not on call is either the supervisor or on call person, period. All the situations described being called over are things that the house supervisor can handle.
You really need to communicate with all staff that they follow the proper chain of command when they encounter problems. Then you need to stick to your guns and only respond if they are reaching out to you appropriately, yes it's hard but if the place burns, it burns! At some point you have to let people either live or die because you cannot baby sit and spend 24/7 at the facility dealing with things that others don't want to.
You have got to accept that you cannot solve all the problems at this facility and you have to also show the humility to know that this place was standing before you were there, and it will continue to stand after you leave.
Thanks. The only problem is that there are no designated evening or weekend supervisors. They've all resigned from their positions due to impossible expectations. Therefore, the staff just call whoever's number they have and you can't fault them too much since there is no clear chain of command during these hours.
And in answer to your question - no, I do not get blown up with questions when I'm not around. And if I did, unless the place is literally burning down, I would ignore them. Because work-life balance is important, and I can't be an effective leader if I'm burned out. Almost everything can wait until Monday morning.
What would you consider to be "burning down?" Apparently there were no floor nurses for day shift because they all called in. I ended up sleeping through these texts, but no one actually called me, so they have must have figured things out.
Would you respond to a text stating there are no nurses available or would you inform them they should use the staffing phone provided to find replacements? The latter option seems a little harsh but if I go in every time there is a call in, I'll be there everyday and they'll expect me to always fill in
What would you consider to be "burning down?" Apparently there were no floor nurses for day shift because they all called in. I ended up sleeping through these texts, but no one actually called me, so they have must have figured things out.
Would you respond to a text stating there are no nurses available or would you inform them they should use the staffing phone provided to find replacements? The latter option seems a little harsh but if I go in every time there is a call in, I'll be there everyday and they'll expect me to always fill in
A call from staff to the DON would be appropriate. It sounds like the DON needs to make a call schedule with all nursing management type positions--except possibly MDS, unless there is more than 1 MDS person in your facility--taking a place in the rotation, DON included. This way it's fairly distributed. And everyone gets a feel for who's got a handle on things and who doesn't. I would suggest it, then insist upon it
For me, not responding to calls/texts is easier said than done. I need my time away from work, but also do not want my coworkers to view me in a negative light or as unapproachable. More likely than not, someone might complain about their weekend and how they were unable to receive support from management if someone does not respond to these calls or texts. Many nursing staff will complain about managers who do not respond to their concerns.
Who are they supposed to call on evenings and weekends? Kindly refer them to that person, ONCE, then stop answering.
When you find yourself dealing with another manager's stuff, refer the nurses on that unit to her. Don't take that on. Unless it is a true, code blue or green type of emergency, you really do not need to make yourself responsible for someone else's unit.
You need, for the sake of your own sanity and PHYSICAL wellbeing, to stop caring so much what people think. You are stretching yourself way too thin in a way that is not sustainable. As you pointed out, you didn't call your manager for every little thing when you were on the floor, so the nurses you work with shouldn't need to constantly be blowing up your phone. Every now and then with a quick question, whatever. But you must stop feeling guilty if you put them in a position to call whoever is actually on call. You can help and help and help until you drop from exhaustion one day, and someone will probably still look down at you and be annoyed that you didn't do more. Other people's opinions are not a good barometer of whether you're doing enough.
Thanks. The only problem is that there are no designated evening or weekend supervisors. They've all resigned from their positions due to impossible expectations. Therefore, the staff just call whoever's number they have and you can't fault them too much since there is no clear chain of command during these hours.
OP, you have already acknowledged that you micromanage and get involved in issues and tasks that you do not have to be involved with. You are not a savior, and you are not the only thing preventing the place from collapsing. This attitude, whether it's real or perceived, actually points to the idea that you're not a very good manager. I'm sorry, but it's true. A good manager empowers her staff to take care of issues, and trains them how to do it. A sign of a good manager is that the place runs smoothly, even when she's not around.
I strongly encourage you to do some self-reflection and ask yourself if management is really where your strengths lie. Because based on all your posts, I would say that it's not.
Thank you for the honest feedback. I realize that by posting on the Internet that not all comments I receive will be praising everything that I do, so I'm not offended at all by any of your remarks.
I don't necessarily see myself as a savior, but can see why others might perceive me as having this attitude. I am not a hero by any means. It's also possible I don't give my coworkers the credit they deserve, although I would like to think I do.
Anyway, I feel you are right to question my role in management. I also do this myself. Without downgrading myself too much, I will say I was probably promoted to this position because I did well in my former role and had more seniority over most of the other units, rather than for possessing any natural leadership charactetistics. I've also managed to keep this role because I've been willing to do it. There is actually an individual at work who is probably more natural as a manager but has consistently declined to be promoted to a supervisory position.
With that said, it's my first time in any type of a supervisory role, so that could be contributing to all of my questions. To me, I felt that this thread was addressing a different concern than my previous threads, but looking back, I can see how some might think it's a repeat of what has already been said. At the same time, only a bit more time will tell whether or not my deficiencies are due to simply being an inexperienced supervisor or just not the right person for the role. I'm not sure which it is at this point, but can see either one of them possibly being accurate.
Who are they supposed to call on evenings and weekends? Kindly refer them to that person, ONCE, then stop answering.
When you find yourself dealing with another manager's stuff, refer the nurses on that unit to her. Don't take that on. Unless it is a true, code blue or green type of emergency, you really do not need to make yourself responsible for someone else's unit.
You need, for the sake of your own sanity and PHYSICAL wellbeing, to stop caring so much what people think. You are stretching yourself way too thin in a way that is not sustainable. As you pointed out, you didn't call your manager for every little thing when you were on the floor, so the nurses you work with shouldn't need to constantly be blowing up your phone. Every now and then with a quick question, whatever. But you must stop feeling guilty if you put them in a position to call whoever is actually on call. You can help and help and help until you drop from exhaustion one day, and someone will probably still look down at you and be annoyed that you didn't do more. Other people's opinions are not a good barometer of whether you're doing enough.
Thank you. However, there are no designated supervisors for the evenings or weekend so people call whoever they are able to reach. Technically, if they should be reaching anyone it should be the DON, but she usually defaults any concerns to me or the other manager. So there's no good, established chain of command for off-hours. As another poster mentioned, this needs to be fixed.
At the same time, our former DON will be returning who did a much better job ensuring coverage for weekends/off hours so hopefully things will return back to normal in a couple weeks when she comes back.
Thank you. However, there are no designated supervisors for the evenings or weekend so people call whoever they are able to reach. Technically, if they should be reaching anyone it should be the DON, but she usually defaults any concerns to me or the other manager. So there's no good, established chain of command for off-hours. As another poster mentioned, this needs to be fixed.
At the same time, our former DON will be returning who did a much better job ensuring coverage for weekends/off hours so hopefully things will return back to normal in a couple weeks when she comes back.
How soon with the former DON be back? Do you really need to wait for her? Because if she could ensure weekend/offhours coverage, then it's clearly something that EXISTED at your facility. Why can't the current DON do it? What is stopping you from pushing the issue? Tomorrow is Monday. Everyone should be back in the facility. Address it with the current DON immediately. It's a problem that needs a solution. Since you are a go-getter, maybe even draw up a sample schedule of how it might go, so that all a lazy DON needs to do is implement it. Plus, if she refuses, then all the more reason to refer all calls to her after hours. Either she makes the managers take a fair share of calls, or she can field them herself.
Secondly, consider the issue of rotating managers to eves/weekends IN PLACE OF their current hours, rather than in addition to them. So, you are going to be the Friday-night-order-enterer? Great! You don't come in until 3pm on Friday, and the manager in the building covers your area on day shift. It's much easier for day shift to call another manager who is actually there than for evening/night shift to figure out whom to call when no one is apparently designated to answer their calls.
But really, you need to continue to work on boundaries. It's more work up front to set up a good system, but more work in the long run to keep taking all this on yourself. It's not sustainable or healthy.
I will repeat my reply to your other thread---based on your posts, unless you are just a bored troll, I strongly recommend therapy to help you start taking a hard look at your life choices. You are clearly not in a healthy state of body or mind.
How soon with the former DON be back? Do you really need to wait for her? Because if she could ensure weekend/offhours coverage, then it's clearly something that EXISTED at your facility. Why can't the current DON do it? What is stopping you from pushing the issue? Tomorrow is Monday. Everyone should be back in the facility. Address it with the current DON immediately. It's a problem that needs a solution. Since you are a go-getter, maybe even draw up a sample schedule of how it might go, so that all a lazy DON needs to do is implement it. Plus, if she refuses, then all the more reason to refer all calls to her after hours. Either she makes the managers take a fair share of calls, or she can field them herself.
Secondly, consider the issue of rotating managers to eves/weekends IN PLACE OF their current hours, rather than in addition to them. So, you are going to be the Friday-night-order-enterer? Great! You don't come in until 3pm on Friday, and the manager in the building covers your area on day shift. It's much easier for day shift to call another manager who is actually there than for evening/night shift to figure out whom to call when no one is apparently designated to answer their calls.
But really, you need to continue to work on boundaries. It's more work up front to set up a good system, but more work in the long run to keep taking all this on yourself. It's not sustainable or healthy.
So DO something about it already!
Our DON will be returning in less than 2 weeks so it might just be smarter to wait and make changes when she gets back. We only have one more weekend to get through after this. The reason that there was always coverage for phone calls on the weekend was that our former/returning DON always took them so it wasn't an issue. Her being gone is the major reason there's not much for coverage on the weekend as the Interim DON doesn't seem to be interested in actually being a DON, delegates as much as possible, and takes more days off in a month than the other one did in an entire year.
I do agree that better boundaries need to be set. I'm just not sure that any radical changes should be made at this point since this DON is not going to be around much longer anyway.
Hoosier_RN, MSN
3,968 Posts
Thanks for saying what I couldn't find the nicer words to say. I'd start typing and it sounded so mean and crass that I couldn't finish.
I also believe that the OP is very attention seeking and/or has self awareness and self esteem issues. It's now beyond cringeworthy.