company morale

I saw one of those funny, sarcastic posters once: "The beatings will continue until morale improves." It made me smile. Still does. But over the course of several months I relate more to that thought than I care to. And today it has me pondering some things.

I work in a good sized medical office. I have some fantastic, intelligent, devoted co-workers. These are people who would, and frequently have, stepped in to help at times of heavy illness or patient load, and willingly help out co-workers who need schedule changes. They are conscientous, and they understand that for the office to run smoothly, it must be staffed adequately. I am surrounded by good people, from the docs to the nurses to the patient service reps. I firmly believe that I work in one of the best places available, so I don't want to sound like I'm bitching.

Except I AM bitching.

Many of us are feeling a little beaten down. maybe a lot beaten down. We all feel the blow when someone calls off and goes unreplaced. When we are in the midst of a boom of maternity leaves (God bless all those prolific mommies!), and staffing is already spread thin, the hit is even harder. Patient care and communication is negatively affected when we're working short. The whole office suffers, tensions run high, and morale takes a dive. Today was one of those nose dives. straight down. from 30,000 feet. And that kind of atmosphere is not enjoyable.

We all understand that emergencies arise, kid and adults get sick, life situations require some time for recovery; in short: shit happens. We've all been there--we get that. But it's harder to summon up that understanding for the repeat offenders, the chronically tardy, the perpetually absent. You know when your shift starts--be there at that time, not 30 minutes later. Unless something serious befalls you after you leave your house, it is NEVER OK to call in after your shift has started to say you won't be showing up. And it is simple and necessary courtesy to try to find a replacement for yourself when you can't be there--it shows respect for your coworkers and for the practice as a whole. Try to understand: no matter how much your co-workers may like you, we don't appreciate being dumped on over and over again. It gets old, it gets tiring, and we get pretty beaten up.