Your thoughts and ideas needed - 2 matters!

dannyc12 · Dec 17, 2009

We have even formed a committee to work on this.

1. Disband the committee immediately. Committees are useless in situations like this.

2. Assign one person (one!) to get to work identifying issues that might help morale.

3. Have that person present the issues and possible interventions to one person (one!) with decision-making power.

4. After the decision-maker rejects every issue as "nonexistent" and every intervention as "not feasible," give everyone you can find a Root Beer Float.

5. The decision maker above will fire the person who identified the issues while taking credit with his superiors for "showing great initiative in improving morale."

I would suggest you make sure you are not the person in number 2. Looks like you are bucking for that position.

MedSurgeMess · Dec 17, 2009

right now morale is low d/t the economic situation. I think that this is something that won't go away real quick, no matter the amount of interventions you throw at it. Just have team members praise and thank each other for a job well done often, that can be a help.

makes needs known · Dec 17, 2009

The reason you have a great bunch of employees, but poor morale is because management does not really care about morale or people. I'm amazed at management in healthcare who profess to be all about people and treat their employees like crap. These unhappy employees are probably working really hard with no appreciation.

makes needs known · Dec 17, 2009

I agree, saying 'please' 'thank you' and 'you're welcome', go along way to help the situation. Take time smile and listen to the people.:)

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · Dec 17, 2009

I guess....I was just talked to when I went into work the week before my surgery to inform my supervisor I had to have said surgery and be off until the monday after xmas....I was told that I had been doing too many incident reports and they felt like write ups, and I didn't need to give my boss the details of pt problems with certain nurses on day shifts.....told to tell the certain nurse next time I work with them....

Well, I admit that my health had not been great in the last 2-3 months, and felt like it had been affecting my work. but the reason I did reports is to cover my butt....things that automatically require them (i.e. day shift not charting a assessment on the patient entire shift, PICC line dressing being off for 6 hrs of the shift and not addressed...nurse taking care of patient did not assess, did not know where PICC line actually inserted into patient, dr. complaints-verbal abuse).....

Guess maybe she got too many reports going on the unit....but they aren't write ups, they're "hey, I addressed this....this happened, let's fix it" about the patients...but what are u gonna do?

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · Dec 17, 2009

Morale comes along when you trust everyone you work with, and then you know that no matter what you ALL have each others back....I have a shift like that, not a unit, but I trust EVERY one of the staff that I work with, and that is vital...we are there for patients not ourselves or our jobs....I make unpopular demands on patients but always have a reason, and always make my charge nurses aware when patients are having issues....

nursej22, MSN, RN · Dec 17, 2009

Kudos to you for taking on moral issues and good luck.I have heard that self-governance is an excuse for self-blame, i.e. when things don't go right you can blame your staff, so I'd be careful about much responsibility you are taking on.

I firmly believe that management's attitudes/actions directly affect team morale. That means they have to be present on a regular basis, expect and recognize excellence and have zero tolerance for disruptive behavior. So I hope you have your manager's buy-in.

Maybe your group can narrow in about what is causing problems. I worked on a unit that refused to talk out issues but ran to management every day. EAP gave classes on communication and it actually helped!

Do people feel under appreciated? Celebrate! Recognize achievements like certification, or decreasing fall rates or something. If patients send thank you notes put them on a bulletin board for all to see.

Have some fun. We have coffee every night at 5pm. We take turns bringing in good beans to grind and brew. We offer and bring a cup to all the coffee hounds, there are usually cookies or something to nibble on.

Have a potluck with a silly theme--we did a "round" potluck. All the food had to be round, it was hilarious!

zuzi · Dec 17, 2009

are pages writen about this subject:

1. each and evry employee wants to be valued like person first and after like employee...is how our human psychology is, lol.

admire him/admire her.... you will create at one point a good employee and will boost the spirit

2. "[color=#006da9]create a career “track” for each employee. help every person develop a “vision” of personal success. create a template for them to use in order to document skills they’ve acquired, skills they want to learn and goals they want to reach."

i will give you an exemple...i had.... a "friend" loooong time ago in 1800 e.n all him wishes was to be wound tx nurse.... his inner self was very unhappy with the reality because all the time he was rejected, cuted, dimished from this job... he became a stabbing back all the time for evryone who was closed to that position, a very restlesnees one.... just because his dreams never but never was listen by no one. we are who create the monsters.....

[color=#006da9]"ask for creative input. in many companies, the “suggestion box” may be the only creative avenue of input some employees will have. not everyone gets invited to participate in planning sessions.if you ask for suggestions from others, try to incorporate a few ideas—even if you have to fine-tune them a little. give personal recognition for every person who makes an honest effort to contribute a winning idea"

an exemple... "we don't count!" this is the first sentence that i heard everywehere i was....i said my self... you all count for me... and at that time we tried to talk togheter.... but i remember like now a long discution........"we all belived that the acuity of that case was to high to dealing with it there"..... but any of our words didn't count ever... they had right.... from that moment i never, but never dared to look in them eyes....is like i lied to them and on that moment i knew it that i sold my self... i sold my beliveness!

"[color=#006da9]bring their families into the work setting. inquire about your employees’ children. make it a point to ask about a child’s piano recital or ball game. if your department is rather large, you might consider publishing a newsletter to share family-oriented information. "

ask them about them life, ask how she deal like single mom with 3 children, find solutions, ask him how he deal with his sick wife, ask her if the child is much better than before on tx, ask them care about them.......

."may be this job is not for you" could not be in the vocabulary of any management team member....ever!

"[color=#006da9]give them something to look forward to. psychologists say that having something to look forward to relieves stress and creates healthy anticipation of the future. you might, for example, encourage your employees to bring desserts to work the last friday of each month. take 30 minutes to eat and chat after 5 p.m. or, have a lottery drawing for a gourmet dinner once a month"

people need dreams, good dreams......and dreams to become real. i remember a pretty agressive nurse, good nurse with poor anger managemnt skills... his big dream was to be on a charge position, unfortunately for him he was just a new grad .... we need to give them a dream to dream at.... finish your studies... gain experience work on agner management... and you my dear you will be the next charge nurse

[color=#006da9]"incorporate humor, whenever appropriate. a work atmosphere that is too straight-laced can dim the creative spirit in employees. incorporate jokes into your speeches. throw in a funny story to liven up your daily chats with employees. "

when i come to talk about somenthing, everything don't put me to give a formal declaration about. i come to talk not to give declarations to cover someone asses, lol. chat togheter!

and the last but not the lest...(or somenthing, lol).... hair in the air dears!

let it flow... sparkling, rainbow color be free and happy! pony tail, straight perfect cuted hair..... omg scarry me!

[color=#006da9]let your hair down occasionally. employees feel more upbeat when they really like their supervisors as people. well-liked supervisors gain loyalty, too

you’ll know your plan is working when employees start coming to you with their own ideas for healthy change.....

is scarry if they reports to you only but them refuse to have any ideeas...because are scarred!

http://www.valueoptions.com/suicide_prev/html%20pages/how%20supervisors%20can%20boost%20morale%20in%20the%20workplace.htm