A Conundrum…

There have been many changes at my rural hospital due to lack of ficiduary responsibility. One of the changes affected staffing patterns, another change affects pay…we used to be able to mix our vacation and sick time when we had need to use it; and, it was convenient as it operated more like a paid time off system. Now, we have been advised sick time can only be used when one is ill 3 or more days and will only be issued with a Doctor’s note confirming one’s poor health. I am rankled over this because I am ancillary staff and am, due to the new staffing matrix, am getting called off often. I used to not worry as I NEVER call in sick and so using a combination of vacation and sick time I have been able to obtain enough pay to afford my bills, school, and meet needs…but JUST BARELY. Now that I won’t be able to use sick time, I am worried how I will have enough hours to meet my minimum needs like mortgage, insurance, utilities, and food.

This issue seems to follow me, thus I have been in Health Care for 15+ years not really progressing my knowledge or skill level (or educational base) because when this happens I go back to the two or three job parameter which puts my education on a back burner, particularly since I pay for it myself.

I am really, really tempted to write an anonymous letter explaining that I really feel that instead of the implementation of a Vacation or Sick time pool that my company consider “paid time off,” thus empowering employees to use time accrued for their own unique and personal needs. I feel the letter must be anonymous because dissention about the changes has led to many getting “pink slipped.”

I need and value my job, however, I need to survive, also. I am scared out of my mind that with the devaluation of the American dollar that mere necessities will be so far out of my budget because of my employer’s restructuring  that I won’t make it. I get that my firm is a “for profit” hospital, and I am sure there is a budget that must be adhered to so that investors can see a profit margin, but it seems to me that employees stop going above and beyond when privileges and perks are abrasively and abruptly taken away due to no fault of the employee.

If I am forced to go back to the life of one foot in the business world and one foot in health care I worry that I will be so burned out that I will be incapable of demonstrating the work ethic that I have displayed, and thus, give those in the upper echelons of management a reason to criticize my work or pull precious commodities like a .3% raise from me.

I feel that most of the people making financial decisons are not in a place where paycheck to paycheck has importance. They make a set scale and have benes and perks that would never deem it hard for them to meet the necessities. I wonder if they realize that they loose something from each employee that fears for the basics…

When I have a steady and stable paycheck, I am more loyal to the company and less likely to bring my personal worries with me to work, and thus always able to give 110% to patient care and exceptional customer service…

I guess I need to decide if I can word my concerns in a way that can even be addressed and then decided if I should coin my name or allow my thoughts to be expressed anonymously. I feel that anonymity could make it so that the letter isn’t even considered, yet I do fear that voicing my opinion could cost me my job…and is my fear worth loosing a job I love?