The organization I work for has started making our morning "huddles" mandatory for each unit. In case you aren't familiar, it's where the charge nurse tells us a little about what to expect that day like pts with anticipated discharges or if a patient has blood or chemo ordered... They can be really beneficial or a complete waste of time, depending.
Most units have their huddles after they get report so the nurse knows more about the patient and can add to the info the charge shares. My unit, however, has them at 6:40, which is 5 minutes before you are required to clock in, & consequently, you are not paid for this 'mandatory' meeting.
Yes, it's only 5 minutes, but here's the thing- now our annual raises are based on several different factors, having 95% attendance at huddles is one of them. EVERYONE has to be there for the unit to meet the goal. One person missed today so, the whole unit's score for today is only around 80%. Yesterday 3 people missed so our unit's score was even lower. BUT, none of those people were late clocking in.
Can we really make anything mandatory before the time you are required to clock in? Wouldn't we be required to pay people to be in a mandatory meeting at any time? I want to be upset with the people who've missed, but I can't really justify being mad when they came to work on time & just didn't show up to a 5 minute meeting for free.
Sure. Be prideful. Tell an at will employer who is willing to break the law that you won't stand for it. Maybe it will work out. Maybe they'll creatively terminate you anyway. Or use the system designed to deal with this to slap their hands hard enough that maybe they'll think twice before they try and break the law for financial gain. And you dodn't have to risk unemployment... You can be righteous or you can achieve righteous things with good strategy.
Sure. Be prideful. Tell an at will employer who is willing to break the law that you won't stand for it. Maybe it will work out. Maybe they'll creatively terminate you anyway. Or use the system designed to deal with this to slap their hands hard enough that maybe they'll think twice before they try and break the law for financial gain. And you dodn't have to risk unemployment... You can be righteous or you can achieve righteous things with good strategy.
Bless your heart. It doesn't have to be quite so dramatic. All it took was asking the nurse manager if we should all start clocking in by 0630 to ensure everyone was compensated for their time in the huddle or if she would prefer we scoot huddles up to 0645 like most other units. (As I said in my original post, we were one of the few units that planned huddle for 0640) She thought 0645 would be more appropriate.
I genuinely think she hadn't really thought about it the way we did & apologized to everyone for her mistake.
Go figure. It didn't have to be a whole "anonymously call so and so" or get anybody else involved and it certainly did not involve pride. Sometimes just asking gets the job done.
Standing up for what's right in nursing shouldn't be such an act of heroism or anonymity.
Bless your heart. It doesn't have to be quite so dramatic. All it took was asking the nurse manager if we should all start clocking in by 0630 to ensure everyone was compensated for their time in the huddle or if she would prefer we scoot huddles up to 0645 like most other units. (As I said in my original post, we were one of the few units that planned huddle for 0640) She thought 0645 would be more appropriate.
I genuinely think she hadn't really thought about it the way we did & apologized to everyone for her mistake.
Go figure. It didn't have to be a whole "anonymously call so and so" or get anybody else involved and it certainly did not involve pride. Sometimes just asking gets the job done.
Standing up for what's right in nursing shouldn't be such an act of heroism or anonymity.
Here is a little story: I once worked a job where they stopped paying employees outside of facility posted hours but we were expected to be there early and stay late to close up. It added up to 15min per day unpaid. I went to the owner and diplomatically explained why that was neither fair nor legal. I figured he'd listen since it was no secret I was his favorite employee. He said he would consider what I said. About 15 minutes later I was informed my services were no longer required.
Few with official power gives a crap about how things should or should not be. Things are what they are and you can play life strategically to achieve just outcomes, or you can play righteously based on how things "should be" and get burned.
Here is a little story: I once worked a job where they stopped paying employees outside of facility posted hours but we were expected to be there early and stay late to close up. It added up to 15min per day unpaid. I went to the owner and diplomatically explained why that was neither fair nor legal. I figured he'd listen since it was no secret I was his favorite employee. He said he would consider what I said. About 15 minutes later I was informed my services were no longer required.
Few with official power gives a crap about how things should or should not be. Things are what they are and you can play life strategically to achieve just outcomes, or you can play righteously based on how things "should be" and get burned.
I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm very lucky to have an honest, ethical nurse manager I can go to with my concerns.
Here is a little story: I once worked a job where they stopped paying employees outside of facility posted hours but we were expected to be there early and stay late to close up. It added up to 15min per day unpaid. I went to the owner and diplomatically explained why that was neither fair nor legal. I figured he'd listen since it was no secret I was his favorite employee. He said he would consider what I said. About 15 minutes later I was informed my services were no longer required.
Few with official power gives a crap about how things should or should not be. Things are what they are and you can play life strategically to achieve just outcomes, or you can play righteously based on how things "should be" and get burned.
Of course, I did not approach the issue citing unfair or illegal actions, I just asked if she wanted to pay everybody else more to be there early or not... Ultimately it was clearly her decision & I stayed in my lane.
Specializes in Medical-Surgical, Supervisory, HEDIS, IT.
Say on your way to the huddle, finished your huddle, on your way to the time-clock you slip and fall and fracture something.....workmans comp? Probably not - you were not "on-the-job" because you were not clocked in.....??
Here is a little story: I once worked a job where they stopped paying employees outside of facility posted hours but we were expected to be there early and stay late to close up. It added up to 15min per day unpaid. I went to the owner and diplomatically explained why that was neither fair nor legal. I figured he'd listen since it was no secret I was his favorite employee. He said he would consider what I said. About 15 minutes later I was informed my services were no longer required.
Few with official power gives a crap about how things should or should not be. Things are what they are and you can play life strategically to achieve just outcomes, or you can play righteously based on how things "should be" and get burned.
Better to be unemployed than to be abused. Again if nurses would stop taking abuse from unfair and illegal request then maybe those would stop. How many Doctors you see putting up with abuse from management? Not many no, why because they sure make sure to fight back, and they also have a strong organization backing them up.
Is not a matter of pride, it is a matter of basic respect.
I dont allow anyone to run over me, or step over me ( is that the right phrase) , i respect myself and respect others and expect the same from those around me. Yes I have stood up for what I believe to be right in the past, has it costed me my employment, perhaps, but i always left with my head high and found out a better opportunity afterwards.
I am not a trouble maker, on the contrary I am very flexible to everyones needs, but respect me as a professional if you expect to have my respect.
Sorry this topic gets my rilled up because i constantly read here in the forums about the abuse that some nurses are subject to in their workplaces.
Better to be unemployed than to be abused. Again if nurses would stop taking abuse from unfair and illegal request then maybe those would stop.
You can go throw yourself out there to be a martyr against abuse by taking it head on and ending up in the unemployment line.
I can get the same or better results using the protections and organizations CREATED to stop and correct abuse without disrupting my employment and income (I have responsibilities). THESE EXIST FOR A REASON!
If you think the latter approach is somehow not honorable enough, I can't help you, and I can't help you pay your bills while you are inbetween jobs.
No, if it's worth addressing then it's worth putting my name on it.
Agree... hence the "hill to die on" dilema. Approaching the labor board, anonymously or not... will supply you with the legalities you need to know ..when you take the issue to the corporate masters.
You can go throw yourself out there to be a martyr against abuse by taking it head on and ending up in the unemployment line.
I can get the same or better results using the protections and organizations CREATED to stop and correct abuse without disrupting my employment and income (I have responsibilities). THESE EXIST FOR A REASON!
If you think the latter approach is somehow not honorable enough, I can't help you, and I can't help you pay your bills while you are inbetween jobs.
A martyr is person who sacrifices something of great value and especially life itself for the sake of principle (according to the dictionary) Well thats the thing, employment is not a thing of great value above principle.
I would say standing up and approaching it with civility is not a bad option before approaching the organizations that are out there to protect us. I would rather they deal with the really serious cases and I would only call upon their help when a more serious matter is at stake. In the meanwhile if we fought our own battles there would be less abuse. Again nurses are one of the few professionals that I see being so abused. And i have a CPA friend that works 70 hrs a week sometimes but isnt treated like a child, same goes for lawyers, engineers, I have met them all and they tell me about the long hours and having to deal with non sense once in a while, but they know when to say no , or enough is enough; and because of it they are treated with respect, if they perform as intended there is no need to be micromanaging them.
Because of people who are afraid of standing up for themselves is that we have had or have bad conditions of work during history. Can you imagine if the people who protested for the 8 hr work day had your attitude? We would still be working at the mercy of the factory overlords, with mandated hours, no breaks, no lunch... Oh wait that is just what happens in Nursing right now!
They are true Martyrs because they died defending their principle, i dont see management killing us yet for our ideals.
Can you imagine if the people who protested for the 8 hr work day had your attitude?
They are true Martyrs because they died defending their principle, i dont see management killing us yet for our ideals.
Semantics regarding the true definition of a martyr aside, there certainly is a time & place for the solution SummitRN proposed, so I don't think it's necessarily a bad attitude to have... Had things not gone as well with my manager as they did, reporting the situation to a higher power would have been the next step. And I'm not so sure I'd be as brave at that point to slap my name all over a topic my direct supervisor told me to squash.
SummitRN, BSN, RN
2 Articles; 1,567 Posts
Sure. Be prideful. Tell an at will employer who is willing to break the law that you won't stand for it. Maybe it will work out. Maybe they'll creatively terminate you anyway. Or use the system designed to deal with this to slap their hands hard enough that maybe they'll think twice before they try and break the law for financial gain. And you dodn't have to risk unemployment... You can be righteous or you can achieve righteous things with good strategy.