"If you want (or need) office supplies at work...bring your own"

[Horse with no Name]

New directive at work(hospital).
The past two pay periods at my workplace, I have heard two RN's say "I'll give it a couple of more paychecks...that is it".

The corporation that "owns" us has been making a lot of demands on the employees and not reciprocating one inch.

Was talking to one of the surgical nurses the other day and she said that their caseloads are down. When they have seen their last patient, they are RUSHED out the door. So many who are scheduled 40 hour weeks hospital-wide are in actuality receiving less than 20 hours per pay period.
So not only are gas, groceries, electric bills shooting up...our employers are using us and tossing us out the door so our wages are going down.

Their GOAL is 100% productivity.

I have driven my 60 miles to work and then be told I had to go home because a patient was discharged after 4 hours.

So now their new directive is...whatever you need to do your job that does not DIRECTLY include patient care...you have to bring it yourself. I'm awaiting the word that toilet paper is included.

Just shaking head...

[varkam]

1. Egads.

When are these people going to understand that employees are not merely widgets: they are people. And treating them as such is likely to yield benefits to your customers.

[aquart]

2. Another failure of privatization.

[ThoughtCriminal]

3. Next thing you know - they will have you going door-to-door

selling magazine subscriptions - unpaid - to raise money for office supplies.
:P
Well maybe they will offer some valuable prizes to employees that exceed their quota.

I remember when schools started doing this to our children to offset budget cuts. Maybe that was training.

[midnight]

4. How about having to work manditory overtime, and then

telling you that you can collect that overtime in six months.

[Horse with no Name]

11. Already have mandatory overtime when THEY need it

:(

[Tesha]

20. *THAT* is blatantly illegal.

In any civilized state, there are labor and wage laws that
compel employers to pay you within a certain period of
time after you complete a period of work.

Tesha

[ima_sinnic]

5. ?? I thought there was a nursing shortage --

I've been under the impression that hospitals are so hard up for nurses, and nurses so overworked, that hospitals and nursing schools are recruiting in foreign countries, and that nurses could work virtually anywhere in the U.S. and also expect good pay, benefits, and continuing education. Is this not true? If your employer is acting so boorish, can't you, as a nurse, easily find a position at another hospital--even if that required moving, wouldn't it be worth it? Or am I way off base here?

[Frank Cannon]

9. There is a nursing shortage. And now you understand why.

It's becoming pretty much universal that employers in this country are looking to hire nurses to work under unbearable (and previously unthinkable) conditions. Good luck finding the clinical setting where a nurse isn't being forced to work ridiculous hours with an unbelievable and dangerous nurse-to-patient ratio.

Health care is getting more expensive each day. Employers are cutting costs the best way they know how, by pushing productivity to unhealthy limits. This is not a situation where you can just find a nicer employer up the street; the solution for many in nursing these days is just getting out.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. Welcome to my world

I even bought my own air conditioner for my classroom.

[Skidmore]

7. Funny how those type of businesses always seem to find enough cash to

pay the CEO and other executives.

[charlie]

8. If you want to get paid, bring your own cash

I swear, that day's coming...

[fasttense]

10. So you are working and not getting paid and have to bring your own

supplies. Isn't this the definition of slavery?

If you were a machine, they couldn't expect you to work without providing you supplies and fuel. But because you are human, they can cheat you out of your fuel (wages) and tell you to provide your own supplies. These corporations are getting away with slavery.

[MuseRider]

12. In the way back

when I was still nursing (I do miss it. What a wonderful way to spend your life) it was not quite that bad. We did get sent home if the patient load was down, it hurt because we not only lost the pay we lost vacation time when we had to do overtime. My husband got a 5 figure Christmas bonus every year. One year they even gave the nurses a bonus too, an apple.

[Warpy]

13. I always had to supply mine

at every hospital I worked in. I was agency for a number of years and they don't do a damned thing for agency. Things didn't improve when I went float pool.

I retaliated by turning into a kleptomaniac where pens are concerned. Most of my pens still have drug names on them, nearly 2 years after I got disgusted enough to let my license lapse. I will still find myself pocketing a pen I've seen lying about. I do stop myself now, though.

Being canceled after a long drive (or subway commute, in my case) was a normal thing. Being sent home after 2-4 hours was also a normal thing. Being called in on days (nights) off for a 12 hour shift at management's convenience and on no sleep was a normal thing.

Their GOAL is having us work without pay for the sheer pleasure of helping our fellow human beings. Their GOAL is to have us forego any sort of lives of our own in favor of being on call 24/7/365 for the higher needs of management.

[Horse with no Name]

14. I've always supplied my own pens

because I have expensive taste there...and I CANNOT write with a cheap ballpoint pen.
What I am talking about is paperclips, staples, etc etc.
I've kept my own supply of sharpies, highlighters and red pens as well...but there was always one lying around IF you needed it.
I guess the next thing that happens is we are going to have to take payroll deductions for chart forms we use...

[Warpy]

17. Or deductions if we use more bandages than some protocol

called for because a wound has dehisced on our shift or something has required packing when the eschar floated off.

It's probably coming.

I was already a critical care pack rat. I can imagine the bulging backpack I'd need to carry from room to room should that become the case.

PT already had to supply their own oximeters.

[salin]

15. Wonder what the corporation will do when a good number of their

full time nurses being forced to work part time, quit. It sounds like the old downsizing trick of keeping folks just under the 'full time' hours and thus being able to start denying benefits with the idea of more employees but fewer benefit costs. So back to the question, what happens when the corp can't find legitimate and qualified part-timers to fill the slots of those who quit?

Let me guess, there are few other facilities in the area, so the corp. isn't concerned about deteriorating quality of patient care leading to a deterioration of the number of patients willing to go to this facility.

Sorry to read that your working conditions are so quickly deteriorating.

[tanyev]

16. Yep, pens and post-it notes are why the cost of health care is so high.

[skooooo]

18. sovietization of America....

Nothing works right, people don't get paid, and the only consolation is going through the motions to try to have a normal life.

[Rabrrrrrr]

19. Ah, the beauty of for-profit healthcare.

[boomerbust]

21. No union?

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