Work ethic, what's your take on it all

I go to work when scheduled, unless I am unable to perform, because I agreed to do so and believe it is the right thing to do. I gave up trying to be anyone else's conscience.

We have a no fault policy. The penalties are spelled-out: what happens as call-offs/noshows accumulate. We can also reap some benefits of good attendance - I saw it on my last performance review by receiving a higher percentage pay raise than I might have otherwise.

THe main problem I've seen, back when it was somewhat my business to know, is that when these things become a disciplinary issue - no one seems to want to go through the actual progressive discipline process.

Management needs to look at the trends. Is it a trend for that particular employee? Then management needs to address it with that employee. Is it a trend for that floor? Hmmm... maybe it's a toxic environment. Are nurses burnt-out, fed-up, feeling abandoned and that management doesn't have their backs? Is this the reason for taking a "mental health"day? Management doesn't solve that issue, and there's a much bigger problem at hand.

Management needs to manage.

Ok, so I almost never call out. I mean, I can count on my hands the number of times I have called out in 5 years. I didn't call out the day after I was told my brain tumor was possibly back nor did I at all 2 years ago when I was diagnosed with 2 [more] chronic conditions and I have worked several days before/after having minor surgeries/procedures. That said, I don't begrudge my co-workers when they do call out. People have things going on in their lives and if, for some reason or another, they cannot come to work, so be it. Actually, I would prefer these people stay home if they have something contagious or if they are so overwhelmed by things at home that they cannot do the job.

There are also situations that happen time and time again when someone will request a day off when we are making our schedule and end up scheduled to work that day. If they informed the employer that they were unable to work that day and got scheduled anyway, I think it's unreasonable for the employer to say "find a switch" when they should have never been scheduled for that day in the first place. I'd have no problem calling out if I requested a single day off and said, "I am going to be out of town this weekend so I need Friday off" and they put me on it anyway. As someone else stated, why should I feel any loyalty towards them when they treat me like sh&* day in and day out?

@ tokmom, what kind of system do you have at work where you can "request" to be the first called off?

KELRN215,

Our system is simple. If there is going to be a possible overage of nurses, you can request to be the first one called off. This keeps the other nurse that might be on the top of the list to not be called off. There is no limit on how many times you write your name down in a month.

You still accrue your vacation and sick and can use PTO to cover.

That doesn't really seem like a fair system. What if multiple people want to be called off? Whoever signs up first gets preference? Although if other people don't want it off, I don't see why it would upset someone that this Suzy person always requests to be the first off. If she wants to use her PTO to stay home on a random Wednesday, that's her problem. Then she'll be the one without a summer vacation when she has no vacation time left.

It goes by date in my facility. If I haven't taken the day off due to over-staffing in a year and everyone else has, I'm at the top of the list. If I take it, then my date gets written down and I go to the bottom of the list. Though I got 2 days off within a week a few weeks ago because no one else wanted it.

When we are overstaffed, people willing to "fill a hole" (as in come off this day and work another day when we are understaffed) are the first to be called, as the hospital would prefer to pay them to work and not to stay home. If no one is willing to do that, people are offered PTO. There are occasionally times where the same person gets multiple days off because other people don't want it. If no one is willing to do either, we work overstaffed and deal with the evil looks from management all day long. One of the few things I like about my facility is that the DON does not allow managers to "force" people off/force them to use their PTO when we are overstaffed.

I'm going to have to agree with you. I have been a nurse for 20 years and over the last few I have noticed a increase in call ins and a decrease in over all work ethic. Even when the nurses that call-in frequently do come to work they dont do much

I notice that when employees are unhappy, there are more call-outs.

I love it, I love it, I love it.

FWIW I called out on my weekend last week for the first time in a year. I know how bad it looks to call out on a weekend, but I doubt the hospital wanted a nurse with sore throat, coughing, sneezing, endless runny nose, fever, and body aches taking care of their fresh post ops.

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.

Not so. In my LTC, I had three nurses on three halls. They would rotate weekly calling in. They worked our liberal call out policy to death. We would run around trying to call people in, and working the on call person to death.

So, we said when one of them calls out and we can't get anyone to cover the other two nurses split the halls. They have 30 residents instead of 20. They answer to each other for calling out. Problem solved.

Yes it is management's problem. Yes employees in any and every occupation call in sick for frivolous reasons. Yes it is very appropriate for people with a strong work ethic to get annoyed even though it may not be their problem.

Many employment policies state if an employee calls in sick for x number of days in a pay period the management may ask for a doctor's excuse, thus asking Suzy why she is calling in sick again can be appropriate.

I fortunately never get sick. My work ethic problem is my husband who cannot understand why I don't don't agree with his whining when he occasionally asks me, "why don't you call in sick today!"

I am a non-assertive push over but that line I do not cross. I have never called in sick for a "mental health" day or any other frivolous excuse.