Work ethic, what's your take on it all

[cardiacrocks]

Well, I work on a busy cardiac floor. It seems to me too many people call in sick. One girl she calls in at least once a week. Why the hec is management allowing this? I feel it's really non of my business but it affects staffing, I'm about to say something! It makes for being even more short staffed. I wonder what ever happened to work ethic. I only call in sick if i'm puking! I'm come in with headaches, diarrhea, etc. I learned growing up, you don't call into work. Now if I had a sore throat then i'd wear a mask, and suck on a cough drop. I don't want to make the patients sicker than they already are, but come on people what in the world is going on with this calling in sick. Please tell me your take on this and what you have experienced in your work place.

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

Sorry, Suzy is as single as they come and just hates to work, but needs the benefits for herself so she stays. She would rather go hiking than to help her co workers by coming in when she scheduled.

We actually did have a co worker who was suffering from DV. Now that was a different story and a long story that I won't go into here.

The other has no excuse

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

I can't go into detail, but we are small enough to not have all of the above and agency is not an option. When they call in 'sick' we do find someone who wants OT and might split a shift, but what a pain in the butt to do this weekly. Thankfully they are cracking down on the ones that put themselves down for first call off when the schedule comes out, and then call in when not called off.

[OCNRN63, RN]

I rarely call off. We have some here that call off ALL OF THE TIME! It makes me crazy Somehow they have their doctors fill out FMLA paperwork for a "chronic issue" and my employer allows them to call off then however many times they want. I say if you can't work full time hours due to X,Y,Z then either make them part time or PRN. It isn't descrimination, it is just plain sense. No one should be punished for being "ill", but the rest of the staff shouldn't have to suffer because you don't want to work Fridays either. I am going to end things there otherwise I am going to rant and rave and work myself up.

Actually, it could be discrimination if the illness is covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

If you are lucky enough to be in excellent health be aware of the fact that some of your coworkers are not. They may not have discussed their health problems with you. If management is aware and not acting on it, then let it go. It is managements duty to ensure that the floor is staffed even with call outs. That may mean a float pool, per diems, or the use of a staffing agency. If management is forcing you to work short staffed that is their fault not the nurse who called out.

We spend hours making sure there is sufficient staff. I have a small per diem pool but those nurses hardly pick up any time. I do NOT use staffing agencies. The nurses have no accountability and the cost is prohibitive. If YOU call out it is NOT my fault. I often suggest to the staff that they should hold their co workers accountable. Don't come complain to me if your friends call out at the drop of a hat.I've gone to work with a broken foot, a migraine, and with a PICC line in my arm. Work ethic is a thing of the past.

[fiveofpeep]

maybe suzy's husband hit her and told her she couldn't leave the house, thinking that sooner or later she'll lose her job and be even more dependent on him. known it to happen.

that's exactly what i thought too.

[PintheD]

We spend hours making sure there is sufficient staff. I have a small per diem pool but those nurses hardly pick up any time. I do NOT use staffing agencies. The nurses have no accountability and the cost is prohibitive. If YOU call out it is NOT my fault. I often suggest to the staff that they should hold their co workers accountable. Don't come complain to me if your friends call out at the drop of a hat.I've gone to work with a broken foot, a migraine, and with a PICC line in my arm. Work ethic is a thing of the past.

CapeCodMermaid I'm assuming you're a Nurse Manager based on the above. I can't understand your position here. You want your staff nurses to hold each other accountable for attendance? That's rich! I would love to see the cat fights that would ensue when nursing peers start playing "attendance police" with one another.

Attendance is a management issue. An employee abusing an attendance policy needs to be managed. No, it's not your fault, it's your job! And don't even get me started on your derogatory comment regarding agency nurses.

[orthonurse55]

I worked with a habitual "sick" person and was very frustrated that management never even talked to her about it. She usually managed to be there on the week days but on the weekends she was sick. I suspected the brown bottle flu. One day she called in on her way to work and said she couldn't come in because she realized she had forgotten to put her bra on! I'm not making this up - it really happened! And she waited to call until she was already 20 minutes late for work. Nothing was done about it! UGH!

[Altra, BSN, RN]

You do not know, nor is it your business to know, your coworkers' personal business.

Time/attendance is the most black & white personnnel-related issue. Believe me, management is aware if someone's attendance pattern is outside the norm. It is also management's responsibility to plan for predictable staff shortages: employees are human beings, who will call off now & then. If your management fails to have a back up plan ... well, you've learned something about your management.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

A broken foot?and you were up and repositioning 500lbs patients and sprinting down the halls to answer call bells. i don't buy it. My own health should be my priority. I am supposed to page the attending at home if someone is nauseous yet i am excpected to work for 13 hours vomitting off and on the whole shift.....................

[33762FL]

"

i often suggest to the staff that they should hold their co workers accountable. don't come complain to me if your friends call out at the drop of a hat."

my coworkers are not my friends, they're my coworkers. and the fact that somebody else calls out whenever her kid has a cold, or goes on maternity leave 4 months after being hired, is completely out of my control.

[floridanurse1983]

The problem is not "everyone gets sick sometimes". Its the people who call out ALOT. Like 3 or 4 days a month. Its BS. Had one person call in because of PMS. But they could still grocery shop, go to the mall, and to the club. If you can do that you can drag your lazy ass to work

[vashtee, RN]

I couldn't possibly care less if someone calls in sick. We have patient ratios, and my workload is the same, regardless of who else shows up.