Bad Morale ? What does your employer do ?

[Kiwiology]

Not until you learn the proper Queen'd English and how to build an Igloo. You'll need a place to live.

Bloody hell man I speak English eh? Igloo you say hmm sounds interesting, as long as I can get 4G service for me smartypants phone.

Besides, I tried that with our mutual South African friend if you'll recall. She didn't like it much.

It was probably the lack of shooting and stabbings

Edited April 30, 2012 by Kiwiology

[Arctickat]

Well, provided that you refrain from de-icing your car windshield in -30° weather by using boiling water...you might do okay. AK is gonna be jealous though, I thought you wanted to work for him.

[Kiwiology]

Well, provided that you refrain from de-icing your car windshield in -30° weather by using boiling water...you might do okay. AK is gonna be jealous though, I thought you wanted to work for him.

I need the tan mate honestly I got picked up by the Police thinking I am escaped corpse and I could use the Skywards miles on Emirates

A colleague of mine used to work for some sheikh in Mid East and got $5,000 USD and a solid gold Rolex as an end-of-year perk I could use that kind of shit

And lets face it, a sweet job in expat land would fix up my soul crushing depression quite nicely

Edited April 30, 2012 by Kiwiology

[naturegirl]

Morale? What's that? Seriously? We get to drive real fast with the lights and sirens blaring. What's better than that? Free health care? Yep, we treat each other as needed cuz they don't keep up on workers comp. The real reason we go thru so much thiamine is hangovers. And for my tendonitis, I can grab all the icepacks I need to keep my arm cool. Every 3 or 4 years we get brand new ass kickin' neon striped coats. What more could we ask for?

[Happiness]

Morale? What's that? Seriously? We get to drive real fast with the lights and sirens blaring. What's better than that? Free health care? Yep, we treat each other as needed cuz they don't keep up on workers comp. The real reason we go thru so much thiamine is hangovers. And for my tendonitis, I can grab all the icepacks I need to keep my arm cool. Every 3 or 4 years we get brand new ass kickin' neon striped coats. What more could we ask for?

I certainly hope thats sarcasium

[MedicAR]

My service ignores it. Christmas bonuses are gone. No raises for about 3 years. Employee of the month discontinued. Christmas dinner is a potluck, we have to use our uniform allowance for boots and can only do so every three years (the allowance doesn't cover a pair of proper boots), no compensation for training or recertification, no way to promote, cramped trucks (front and back), air conditioning in the trucks that works about 50% of the time, the list is almost endless.

We changed from a bizarre mix of 24 and 12 hour schedules to 12 hours for most crews and 24s in the lower volume areas. This was a fantastic boost in morale but came about because the fatigue was simply out of control and it was becoming clear that someone was going to get hurt. It's not perfect but it is light years ahead of where we were.

This worked splendidly for more than three years. We still kept hearing that "there is just no money for raises" but given the state of the economy, we just took it on the chin. Then, the brass got brand new vehicles. A suburban and a really nice truck, both fully loaded. I've always considered myself to be pretty good at gauging and anticipating reactions, but this was as demoralizing as anything I've ever seen and it came out of the blue. Even the most ardent "company men" were outraged. Not upset, not disappointed, but outraged. Morale wasn't damaged, it was completely destroyed.

The solution was a small raise, not quite as much as all of the other agencies around us have gotten in the last year or so, but a little. Since many employees make only slightly more than minimum wage, it's enough to stabilize things for the majority.

I think that as employees, we essentially want three things. The first is more money. It's a no brainer, everybody wants it. The problem is that when compared to the agencies within a 100-200 mile radius, we're a minimum of 10% behind in pay with some studies saying as high as 25%. We also make more responses than all of those agencies. So we're doing the most work for the least pay, which is a recipe for low morale alone. The second thing we want is honesty. We catch our leadership in falsehoods again and again. The favorite to pick on right now is "no one, including the brass, has gotten raises for years." Technically true, but tax records show that they were awarded annual bonuses that kept climbing each year. Another is that no one can cool the back of an ambulance more than 10 degrees below the outdoor temperature. So, by that rationale, crews in Phoenix can't get a truck below 90 degrees for more than 1/3 of the year, anyone from Phoenix? Can you confirm this? The third is be recognition. I was recently told by my compliance officer that I don't get commendations is because I perform at such a high level all the time that they would spend all their time doing commendations. So my file has only my precious few mis-steps, not a single achievement. How does that look over my 14 year career, based solely on my file?

As the boots on the ground, we can't find a way to fix these things and I am open to any ideas. Moving into management is out, no one moves up, it's not possible and when a slot opens, it is given to the most easily controlled/beaten down so that there is no dissent at the top. Unions don't take off and after the problems in the midwest over the last year and being an "at will" state leaves a bad taste in the general public's mouth, we don't want to upset the people we serve. On top of that, new hires are scared to commit to a union for fear of retaliation in the set up stages, so we never make it very far. We just feel that our hands are tied at every turn. I'm too old to move on, I can't start over and make what I am making now, and I'm not alone. We're trapped in a job we love if that makes any sense.

[Vorenus]

Can`t think of anything at all.

Go figure...

[mikeymedic1984]

Bieber, here is a suggestion: Someone in your group knows your average number of transports and collection numbers those transports average. If you are like most 911 services, your transport rate is probably around 50-60%. Have that numbers person run the numbers of what revenue would be produced if you transported 5% more patients this year, then ask for a cut of that across the board (in a Christmas bonus)if you achieve the goal.

For instance, you run 2000 calls per month and average $300.00 per call in collections received -- not billed out (including the good and the bad), but you only transport 1100 which nets you $330k per month. If you were to change that to 1300 transports per month, it increases your revenues another $60k per month (raising your yearly from 3.9 million to 4.68 million or $720k per year). Split the difference between the department and the employees, giving the employees $360k to split.

*** Bieber responded on page 1 of this thread

[Just Plain Ruff]

My service ignores it. Christmas bonuses are gone. No raises for about 3 years. Employee of the month discontinued. Christmas dinner is a potluck, we have to use our uniform allowance for boots and can only do so every three years (the allowance doesn't cover a pair of proper boots), no compensation for training or recertification, no way to promote, cramped trucks (front and back), air conditioning in the trucks that works about 50% of the time, the list is almost endless.

We changed from a bizarre mix of 24 and 12 hour schedules to 12 hours for most crews and 24s in the lower volume areas. This was a fantastic boost in morale but came about because the fatigue was simply out of control and it was becoming clear that someone was going to get hurt. It's not perfect but it is light years ahead of where we were.

This worked splendidly for more than three years. We still kept hearing that "there is just no money for raises" but given the state of the economy, we just took it on the chin. Then, the brass got brand new vehicles. A suburban and a really nice truck, both fully loaded. I've always considered myself to be pretty good at gauging and anticipating reactions, but this was as demoralizing as anything I've ever seen and it came out of the blue. Even the most ardent "company men" were outraged. Not upset, not disappointed, but outraged. Morale wasn't damaged, it was completely destroyed.

The solution was a small raise, not quite as much as all of the other agencies around us have gotten in the last year or so, but a little. Since many employees make only slightly more than minimum wage, it's enough to stabilize things for the majority.

I think that as employees, we essentially want three things. The first is more money. It's a no brainer, everybody wants it. The problem is that when compared to the agencies within a 100-200 mile radius, we're a minimum of 10% behind in pay with some studies saying as high as 25%. We also make more responses than all of those agencies. So we're doing the most work for the least pay, which is a recipe for low morale alone. The second thing we want is honesty. We catch our leadership in falsehoods again and again. The favorite to pick on right now is "no one, including the brass, has gotten raises for years." Technically true, but tax records show that they were awarded annual bonuses that kept climbing each year. Another is that no one can cool the back of an ambulance more than 10 degrees below the outdoor temperature. So, by that rationale, crews in Phoenix can't get a truck below 90 degrees for more than 1/3 of the year, anyone from Phoenix? Can you confirm this? The third is be recognition. I was recently told by my compliance officer that I don't get commendations is because I perform at such a high level all the time that they would spend all their time doing commendations. So my file has only my precious few mis-steps, not a single achievement. How does that look over my 14 year career, based solely on my file?

As the boots on the ground, we can't find a way to fix these things and I am open to any ideas. Moving into management is out, no one moves up, it's not possible and when a slot opens, it is given to the most easily controlled/beaten down so that there is no dissent at the top. Unions don't take off and after the problems in the midwest over the last year and being an "at will" state leaves a bad taste in the general public's mouth, we don't want to upset the people we serve. On top of that, new hires are scared to commit to a union for fear of retaliation in the set up stages, so we never make it very far. We just feel that our hands are tied at every turn. I'm too old to move on, I can't start over and make what I am making now, and I'm not alone. We're trapped in a job we love if that makes any sense.

MedicAR, I have so much to say to your situation that I just can't think of the words to say them right now.

You are definatly working in a busted system.

Unfortunately your management team knows that by what you wrote that your coworkers won't rise up and fight for better work conditions so they continue to keep you down.

I'm not really a union guy but your service sounds like it's ripe for a union if I ever heard of one being ripe for the picking.

Someone needs to be the leader of it but they have to be willing to take the ball and run with it. I'm not up on labor laws but I don't think you can be fired for trying to organize a union but the company can probably find some way around that.

If you beat a dog long enough, well you've heard that proverb or saying.

Let me talk to some guys who I know who have started unions at agencies with even more shit problems than what you listed and I'll get back to you.