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| | Is Workplace Bickering Breaking You Down? How You Can Stand Up to It |
Workplace bickering can be a tremendous source of stress for healthcare managers and administrators. Whether it's constant arguments between staff or an irritating employee who complains to you on a daily basis, such griping can certainly wear you out. Although it may be easy or tempting to join in on these bickering sessions, you must resist. Complaining, without offering any type of solution, is neither healthy nor productive. To the contrary, taking action is the best way you can stand up to such annoying and negative behavior. Here's what you can do:
Listen. Yes, as hard and painful as this may be, listening (to an extent, of course) can serve as the beginning to the end. Although office bickering is annoying and unproductive, there may be some merit to what your co-workers have to say. If possible, try to identify the legitimate issues and concerns they are voicing.
Take action. After you have identified the root causes of the bickering, you need to take action. Hold a meeting and act as the mediator between the bickering parties. Allow them to formally discuss their problems/grievances, and give them the opportunity to suggest possible solutions. Guide them along the way and offer your own advice-maybe a change in schedules or tasks is necessary. You will also need standard protocol and consistent consequences for items that are key targets for bickering, including tardiness, late lunches, and long breaks; such procedures are likely to put an immediate halt on the bickering (if a rule is plainly stated, individuals don't have much room or reason to complain about it).
Break away. It's important to take time to unwind from the tension and stress that office bickering causes. Try taking a few deep, calming breaths, listen to your favorite songs or fix a cup of herbal tea-anything that allows you to relax.
If your healthcare organization is free from petty arguments and bickering, consider yourself extremely lucky! For most other facilities, such banter is just a way of life. The good news is that there are steps you can take to combat this annoying behavior: employ the steps above to ease office tension or at least make it more peaceful for yourself!
"Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment."
-Fred Brooks
| | NIC Creates Future Leaders Council |
The National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC) announced that is has formed a Future Leaders Council to "groom the next generation of leaders" serving the senior living industry. NIC leaders state that as demand increases for housing and care to serve an aging population, so does the need for fresh thinking to handle the unique challenges and opportunities it presents for our industry. The NIC believes that the Future Leaders Council will help prepare tomorrow's leaders to face what lies ahead, help grow the industry, and positively impact America's seniors.
The NIC Future Leaders Council will gather formally as a group at major NIC events to discuss current issues, share ideas and recent successes, and ask questions of fellow members and industry leaders.
To become a member of the Council, individuals were nominated by employers who have served on NIC's Board of Directors or Operator Advisory Board or have been a key NIC sponsor. Candidates must also have five or more years of relevant experience in the seniors housing and care industry; possess a desire to grow within their companies and the industry; exhibit strong leadership potential; and demonstrate the ability to think creatively and strategically about industry issues.
For more information about the NIC Future Leaders Council, visit www.NIC.org.
"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything."
-Alexander Hamilton
| | Do You Know the Real Damage Rumors Can Cause? |
Most employers view rumors as an inevitable ingredient of work life. Although this may be the case, this doesn't mean that healthcare organizations should take rumors lightly. The reality is that office rumors and gossip can result in enormous consequences. In the most serious circumstances, employers can face legal and monetary liability for unsubstantiated rumors. With such severe consequences, healthcare management and administration must be aware of the dangers inherent with such talk. This article defines workplace comments and activities that should be avoided at all costs and your company's legal liability when/if situations get out of hand.
Name Calling vs. Slander: What's the Difference?
Slander is simply a spoken assertion about someone that can be proven to be false and shown to be derogatory. "He's a complete jerk" is a subjective assessment (name calling), and so it can never be slanderous. However, if an employee were to say that "John employs the services of prostitutes" as a statement of fact, this is something that can most likely be proven and indeed be deemed as derogatory.
The Consequences
Most courts state that slander has to relate to certain types of conduct-the commission of a felony or having a "loathsome disease", for example-before the injured party is eligible for general damages. So, although it's easy enough to prove, slander typically is not a huge source of monetary liability under common law. However, if an employee can link direct monetary losses to the act of slander, a court can choose to award specific damages. For example, if the employee can prove that he/she was shunned by peers as a result of these rumors, or if the employee was passed over for a promotion or a raise, the company could face some hefty specific damages. Furthermore, if senior management is aware of slanderous rumors, yet fails to take action or address them, there is also a good chance damages can be awarded to a plaintiff.
Although these are extreme and rare cases, such things do happen at healthcare organizations. So, taking a conservative and proactive approach is critical. If you hear serious accusations about an employee, report them immediately to your superior or to Human Resources. Don't talk about it any further, unless asked by these individuals. From this point, HR should tackle the rumor immediately by raising the issue to the employee in question as well as the employees making the accusations. Addressing the rumors immediately and in a professional and confidential manner will keep you and your company in the clear.
"Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you."
-Spanish Proverb
| | The Lighter Side of the Healthcare Debate |
Today's healthcare debate has certainly gotten heated, to say the least. However, no matter what views you believe in, or what 'side' you're taking, the late night talk show hosts have a great way of making us laugh about the whole thing. Although the debate is no laughing matter, as serious issues are at hand, the following sound bites will hopefully put a smile on your face:
"If conservatives get to call universal healthcare 'socialized medicine', I get to call private, for-profit healthcare 'soulless, vampire b*stards making money off human pain.'"
-Bill Maher
"President Obama says he will not support a healthcare plan where the government gets to decide whether to, quote, 'pull the plug on Grandma'. Apparently, Obama's plan calls for the much quicker pillow option."
-Conan O'Brien
"You know who really is opposed to the Obama healthcare plan? The Republicans. Apparently it does not cover breast implants for their mistresses so they think, 'We don't want it. We don't need it."
-David Letterman
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