A
female
age
41-50,
anonymous
writes:At the moment at work (I work in a hospital) we are overstaffed and each day 1 of us has to move to a different area. No-one likes this. How (can I) be less stressed?About moving areas, we take it turns, though some of us move more often. I know we have to move but it’s not good coming to work wondering if you will move, and movng to an area where people are not always nice. Hospitals are notoriously cliquey.We are not allowed to say to those in charges “I don't want to move.” Its seen as not being part of the team, being difficult and complaining. I enjoy where I work, I’m not leaving! How to stress less about this? I try to be positive and think of it as a challenge or something different.Not easyIt will happen all the time now..as. My boss employed too many people.. and other areas have not enough..Advice?Thanks..
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female
reader, CindyCares  +, writes (4 November 2017):
 It's not easy but .. keep trying.
Life works better for those who are flexible and can roll with the punches.
If you are someone who resists change you can't modify your mindser overnight, but keeping things in perspective will help,- and keepong in mind the bottom line.
The bottom line is that you are lucky to have a job which you like in a workplace that you like !, and this will not change much. You have to move to a different area occasionally. Say, once a week . Well, this means that once a week ( or twice a week, or twice a month or whenever ) you will enjoy your work a little less. It's not a whole different job, and it's not every day. You can still handle it , I am sure.
And the bottom line is that you go to work with the intent and obligarion to provide your best possible performance to the hospital patients , with THEIR wellbeing and comfort in mind. So what if hospitals are cliquey , or if not all your colleagues are nice.? You get paid to perform certain duties , not to make friends or to promote your social life. IF you also get to make friends and get along with everybody, fine, that's an extra perk. But it's not in your job description, and it's not what should motivate you- or worse, should discourage you from doing your best at work.
A
reader, anonymous, writes (4 November 2017): I meant to say:
"You are appreciated when they need help, as long as you don't have a nasty attitude about it."
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (4 November 2017): You can volunteer to work permanently in one of the areas they move you to. If there is someplace with a shortage of hands; surely that means a smaller clique to deal with? You appreciated when they need help, as long as you don't have a nasty attitude about it.
Being passive-aggressive is sometimes worse than being outright belligerent. Pouting and begrudgingly doing your job. Being tense and irritable. People pickup on it, and respond to it negatively. Even when you think you're hiding it, or putting on a phony-face.
I'm sorry, if I had to judge you by the content of your post; I'd think you were a disgruntled and problematic worker. Upset when things don't go your way. You're making it harder on yourself than anyone else does.
Where can you work in any profession where there's no change and all the people are happy and perfect all the time? The more responsibility you have, the more stress that comes with it.
I don't know! I've never worked anywhere; but jobs that were demanding, fast-paced, and forever-changing. I manage an office now; but years ago, I worked as a medical laboratory technician in a huge medical-complex. Both during my military service, and afterwards. Enduring staff-shortages, experiencing bullying from doctors; but charging on, even when they hired incompetent people. I didn't always like my coworkers, or the people in-charge. I did love my job.
There were cliques, soap opera characters, snobbish interns, obnoxious/arrogant doctors, and fussy nurses. It's a hospital; all that comes with the territory. Imagine the stress the interns and doctors are under; assuming thrice as much responsibility?
You're resisting change. Obstinate against decisions beyond your control, and well above your pay-grade. If you choose to stay; you roll with the punches, sister. You say you like where your job. Then deal with the good and the bad. Such an attitude reflected in your post doesn't assess well on a performance review. If you don't call the shots, you follow the orders! The job is what you trained and were hired for.
Focus on whatever you do to help patients. Stop getting caught in the cogs and wheels of the machine, and work with it. Take as many mental-breaks and cool-off moments as allowable. Being too opinionated when you're on the lower rung of the ladder leads to a lot of frustration. Unless you are qualified for a different or higher-position; you have to be happy where you are. They won't design the job about you. You're too busy emotionalizing about the job; instead of focusing on your professionalism.
Your stress comes from hating to be rotated and relocated. I've worked in three different hospitals; and each and every one of them required me to change shifts, be on-call on my days off, or even work two consecutively-running shifts.
I couldn't complain much; because it was the profession I chose. It was stressful holding someone's life in my hands; God forbid if I made a grave mistake on lab results.
Dreading that I should foul-up a blood cross-match, or misidentify a fungus or bacterium. The patient could end up treated for the wrong thing, given the wrong blood-type in a transfusion, or be prescribed the wrong medicine!
A doctor could make a misdiagnosis; based on the lab test results I did! So I did my quality-control, and stayed focused. I didn't have time to worry about my coworker's attitudes, or what floors I was assigned to. I did what I was hired and paid to do.
Your boss didn't hire too many people. Each department is only allowed a certain number of staff members. Extras were hired; because people get flaky, or over-worked. When things get busy; you need extra hands on reserve, in-case somebody decides to bail. If other areas are short of help; there's a freeze on employment for budgetary reasons. They use the people they have. Re-assigning them according to need. I supervise and manage a big staff. I know these things.
The hospital administrator will not authorize over-hiring; because it's not budget-wise or fiscally responsible.
Go with the flow, instead of trying to swim upstream. Go where you're needed; or get a higher degree to move up the ladder. So you can make the decisions; instead of being told what to do and where to go.
Meanwhile; resolve yourself to doing what your job requires of you, and you'll settle into it. Your mind is busy rebelling against the decision-makers, and frustrated with not being able to break into cliques. You're overthinking.
As for cliques; be jovial, pleasant, cooperative, and adaptable. Professionalism works regardless. You can't change other people; so you have to work on yourself to deal with your environment. If you can't hack it, then you may as well quit and move on.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (3 November 2017): I agree with Youcannotbeserious.Find a department you're comfortable in and ask for a permanent transfer. Or try to find work in a another hospital.If it doesn't work, use this opportunity to become more flexible. The more you expose yourself willingly and mindfully to the situations that stress you, the less you will be stressed by them.I understand that people are not everywhere nice and that much depends on the direct management of the department, the stress-load and the overall group dynamics. If you're the only one always landing in tight-knit groups it can be uncomfortable, but it can also work wonders for your social skills and it can open some new doors for you. Not to mention that you may meet some pretty great people you wouldn't otherwise have met.So, be more flexible (and the best way to become more flexible is to be in situations that demand flexibility ;) , starting by accepting the situation. You have a steady job in a pretty bad economy. That's one way to look at this this. If you continue to repeat yourself "I don't want to move, I'm staying here", you're not only refusing to accept reality, but are adding to your own stress torturing yourself even more.Life is change. Especially for our generation and younger. Our parents would stay on a job until retirement. This is no longer the case and it's horribly stressful. The faster we learn to adjust the more peaceful we'll be.Whatever it may seem, the only thing we can try to do is control ourselves and our reactions to the world around us, not the the world around us.I'm sorry I wasn't of much help giving you advice on how to succeed in you're intention of staying put. I just don't see how it would be possible since you don't have a contract that clearly stipulates. Good luck!
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A
female
reader, Youcannotbeserious  +, writes (3 November 2017):
 Can you apply to one of the short-staffed areas to work there permanently so that you don't have this uncertainty?
If this is not possible then the only thing that can change is your attitude and expectation. I know you say you have tried and that it is not easy - and I totally agree and feel for you. However, if nothing else will change then it is up to you to do what you have to do to minimize the stress you feel.
This is WORK. You are expected to earn your wage so you need to take a turn at moving to other departments if yours is overstaffed. Perhaps looking at this as a situation which will have to change at some time will help? After all, people change jobs all the time and, if YOU are feeling stressed by this situation, others in your department probably are also. At some point someone is going to leave and the department will no longer be overstaffed because they will simply not be replaced. Then things will settle down. All you can do until such time is put up with the situation as it is.
Do you go into these other departments and make it obvious you are not happy to be there? (Sometimes we can make this obvious by our body language, without even saying anything.) If you do, then others will be less inclined to be friendly to you. If you go in with a smile on your face (regardless of how you feel inside) and say "Heh everyone. Me again. Nice to see you all." then perhaps they will feel less "cliquey" and more inclined to befriend you. The working shift will be the same length whether you go in with a positive or a negative attitude, but it will SEEM much easier if you go in with the first.
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