To clean or not to clean...this is a decision I must make every day at work. You see the problem is, I don't have the luxury of time to clean EVERYTHING. Apparently, the hospital where I work isn't so concerned about having a clean environment. The directors and supervisors are more concerned with cutting hours so they can get their bonuses, or so it seems. And of all the employees whose hours are cut, it is consistently housekeepers.
My complaint is not so much that I'm not getting as many hours as I would like. I mean, sure that is irritating. But what is more irritating is that they simply expect us to do more work in less time. We are assigned a specific area to clean. Rather that area is full of patients or has few patients makes little difference. In addition on weekends, they have reduced staff so each housekeeper is given extra work. So on a weekend like this past one, I find myself faced with my normal 8 hours of work, plus an extra area (which is usually another hour of cleaning). But I am expected to do those 9 hours of cleaning in only 6 and a half hours.
So when one is faced with the impossible like that, one must decide what should be cleaned and what should be passed over. But in a hospital how can you decide what is most important to clean? Do I just clean the patients' rooms, protecting them from getting some infection and getting sicker? If so, I must neglect the staff areas and just hope that my fellow co-workers have a good immune system and won't get sick from the people they are caring for. Whatever I do, it seems impossible to find a satisfying solution. Unless of course, they would just let me do my job and make the hospital a cleaner, safer place for everyone...
That would be so frustrating. I feel your pain. I certainly don't want to go to that hospital knowing they are cutting back on the cleanliness of the place. =/
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Siriyah. Knowing this is what happens where you work tho makes me a bit fearful that it probably happens at all the hospitals. Its interesting that this is happening, I mean I expect this kind of stuff in retail and other places but in an enviornment where cleanliness would be vital it makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteThat is really weird. And they are being unfair to you with the hours and tasks that they give you. People are so ignorant these days.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, our hospital just became unionized. So I'm really hoping that in the months to come problems like this will be resolved. I know them cutting our hours like that is one problem they plan to work on.
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