Comments on: Culture-Workplace

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 12:14:48 +0000

Deb, a few years ago my Grandmother was very sick, she had cancer and was dying. I was very close to her; it was very hard to go to work everyday and see my residents- many who were women and not be reminded of my Grandmother. I spent my breaks crying. One of my residents, little old Sally, took my hand and kissed it..she told me she KNEW something was making me sad and told me she would pray for me. I broke down and told her about my Grandmother. Sally helped me get through this hard time with her questions and positive upbeat words, on a daily basis. She actually became more of a friend than a resident. The nurses didn’t like this but they also didn’t stop it…they could have assigned me to other residents. I could have been written up. But I wasn’t. How much culture change is this??

By: Kim

Kim — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 02:59:10 +0000

Hi Deborah,

Of course our personal life issues effect how we work, our attitudes and perceptions. We’re human. We can’t just turn off the issues for 8 hours. I wish we could. But we can try to quell them while we work; we can try to be upbeat when things at home are not; we can work hard to overcome problems with our children or parents or spouses…it’s not as easy as it sounds though.

Sometimes when we go to work, we can talk about these things on our breaks with co workers, or nurses or the DON- who often give us advice and feedback on how to handle things.

I think we can overboard in the other direction though here too. When staff STOP being human and stop showing feeling, we’re like robots. And nothing goes against culture change more than THAT. I’ve seen it happen many times when staff have been told to keep home out of work.

Remember: We’re all human. And the residents do pick up on things AND I have been blessed with the chance to hear THEIR opinions and advice on issues.

By: Deborah

Deborah — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 22:30:27 +0000

I really enjoyed reading these posts…and as I did it brought to mind another issue of which I feel these issues effects also..wouldnt you agree that the “culture” or working environment ( Staff Attitudes ie: cna, nurses, laundry etc ) that are brought in to the workplace from home and those created in the workplace ..also can adversely effect the very ones we are there to give care to? Residents pick up on these attitudes and can cause them to be uneasy, fearful, even possibly withdrawn… Making things even more difficult for them and the caregiver.
We are Care Givers and should keep in mind those we are to care for…attitudes do not belong in that culture. Would you agree?

By: Belinda

Belinda — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 22:37:59 +0000

I will be starting my new job as a cna in 2 weeks, i’ll be working the 11 pm – 7 am shift, what sould i expect to do on that shift?, any positive advice would be accepted. Thank you in advice.
Belinda.

By: allaround

allaround — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 22:40:19 +0000

It’s good to read something that promotes a positive work environment!

Well said….

By: billie

billie — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 19:08:59 +0000

Hi Leah,

I would say yes, you will have to say her name. I was in a similiar situation before and had to write out what i saw and heard. Its not always a easy thing to do, but neglect of one of the residents is a big issue. Just make sure you document facts and not “i think”. Hope this helps..

By: Leah

Leah — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 21:19:49 +0000

I was just wondering if anyone could answer a question for me. Recently at my place of employment, a girl has been guilty of neglect but our supervisor needs documentation of what I have seen to take any action. Does anyone knows exactly how to put that kind of thing in writing? Do I mention her name or refer to her as “the CNA”? If anyone could help me out I would appreciate it…thanks so much.

By: Patti

Patti — Tue, 03 May 2005 21:34:27 +0000

Ken, thanks for this. It’s important to have a good culture, and it does start at the top. There will always be bad apples in the group though…weed them out and the good apples will thrive.

By: Ken J. Wiesen

Ken J. Wiesen — Wed, 27 Apr 2005 23:59:57 +0000

Hey Patti, thought your post was great. I work at an agency that has a number of issues going on and it appears to be a result of cliques and employees attempting to sabotage their managers. What often occurs is the employee comes to upper management with untrue statements with the intent of having this middle manager lose their position within the organization. I am the Director of HR at this agency and what I have advised upper management on these types of issues is the following:
1. Never give anything that is anonomous ANY attention at all. I advise them to treat either phone calls or notes/letters that do not identify the person sending, to conider this as something that hasn’t occurred, non-existent. 2. If an employee comes to the manager with an issue, ask them to document their concerns, sign and date them. If they are willing to do this, they are interested in resolution. It is simply too easy to essentially unload their monkey onto your back and now you own it. 3. I also encourage them to have what is called a friendly visit with the middle manager, the employee and the manager at the next level. The intent is to resolve. I could go on and on about other issues such as work ethics, the decline; rumors, gossip and backstabbing. These issue are also very real and are entering the workplace. Thanks again!