What's driving these employees into the office with colds, cough drops, and crutches?

Since I was one of the lucky ones infected by the plague… this blog suits me well. I think the most important part of helping an employee that is out of the office or when you return from being out is to prioritize. Make a list of what is most important and what needs to be completed first and then move on. Rome wasn’t built in a day and sometimes it will take more time to catch up, but by prioritizing you can tackle smaller goals at one. This also works when others are out because you can prioritize your work and then help them as needed.

I found an article below that was kind of interesting. This article is titled, “Coming to Work Sick: Dedication or Desperation?”

“It's not uncommon for employees to show up at work sick--but is it becoming a trend? Nearly 90 percent of those responding to a LifeCare(R) poll admit to working sick. What's driving these employees into the office with colds, cough drops, and crutches? Not necessarily true dedication.

Here's what they said:
-- 27 percent show up out of obligation--they're stressed about their workload;
-- 24 percent feel it's too 'risky' to be absent;
-- 17 percent bankroll their sick time for child care emergencies; and
-- 18 percent weighed in with a variety of other motives.

LifeCare, the exclusive provider of Life Event Management(R) Services, conducted the month-long poll online, among the employees of its 1,000-plus clients nationwide.

"It's really in no one's best interest if an employee comes to work sick or avoids taking vacation time," says Peter G. Burki, LifeCare CEO and co-founder. "After all, ill and exhausted employees simply aren't going to be productive. And, employees with contagious conditions, such as the flu, put co-workers at risk for illness. Burki also points to the fact that employees who forego taking vacation time risk burnout and developing feelings of resentment--both of which can lead to productivity loss and employee turnover.

"It's admirable to be a dedicated employee but if this many people are foregoing staying home when they have legitimate cause, employers should consider openly addressing this issue and creating a culture that is more openly supportive," says Burki.”

I saw this lady with red hair in the cafe!!

So I saw this lady with red woolen hair, she looked really scary and I have no idea what she was dressed as but I swear she was bitter cuz I think her office probably made it sound like everyone had to dress but they picked on her and she was the only one dressed up in a weird costume! It was hillarious!

Meredith! I love the second one...I hope I see you around campus
Good job with the clean up day everyone and I am not going to lie but the office did feel really empty, I'm glad everyone's recovering and comign back to work :-)
Well the QI department hasn't been sick at all(knock on wood) and I took my swine flu shot yesterday so I think I should be good..

When people in the office are out sick, the other people should get in touch with them and look up their tasks that had a deadline. Since SHM has an amazing "P drive" I am sure everyone saves their important files onto p-drive so that their absence wouldn't be an end of the world situation. If I am the one that's sick, I would make sure I keep other members in the department aware of my top priority tasks and try and keep up with it by myself from home; And if not then once I come back to the office, I would make a list of tasks and complete each one according to its priority. Honestly, I don't know if I would stay longer, but I would definitely cut down on my lunch break and probably eat at my desk so I can save time like that.

Have a good weekend everyone, I'll attach a picture of myself in the next blog hopefully, cuz I can't find a picture online that looks like my costume!

And feel better everyone!!

GO PHILS AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2 in 1

I forgot to post last week! AHHhh. so my answer to last weeks question:

Describe SHM to a prospective member.

If I had to describe SHM to a prospective member I would whip out the NEW new member kit (since it has all the general information they need to know) and the Case Statement (which clearly states the tagline, Hospitalists. Transforming Healthcare. Revolutionizing Patient Care. The Case Statement also has a few quotes/testimonials that would help influence someone's decision.

I was planning on reusing old halloween costumes--Penny Lane from Almost Famous or Dorothy BUT now I'm thinking of boycotting Halloween as well..... mainly because the most important part of Saturday is the WORLD SERIES GAME 3..... so I have to figure out whether I will celebrate Halloween or not.

This weeks question... is pretty easy to answer seeing as everyone in the world is sick. What I did to pick up the slack was work from home to help out as much as I could. To pick up other's slack would just be to find out what's on their plate and would you could help out with/get started. Coming back into the office and prioritizing what you need to do helps when you return.

Well, hope everyone has an awesome weekend, Halloween, and most importantly world series. Go Phillies!

I finally have speakers!

First of all, I really dislike when people are out sick…especially when over half of the department is sick. II was the only MA here on Tuesday and it was quite lonely. At first I didn’t think I would have much work to do, but then I was assigned some design work while Kat was sick. This was super exciting because I love working with Photoshop, etc. I designed an application for new AAPA and AANP members. It was great getting back into graphics and what not. I definitely hope there is more of that to come in the near future!

If I was the one that was sick, depending on how sick I am, I would try to check in as much as possible with Christine or someone. I really don’t like being out of the loop with things. Also, when I would come back into the office, I would most likely make a to-do list and tackle as much as I could in the given amount of time. If there was too much work and it was really important, I would probably stay late to get it done. I don’t like leaving things until the last minute. BUT, hopefully I won’t have to worry about this because I’m still going strong! No illness over in my cube!

I hope everyone enjoys there Halloween! I know I will be enjoying myself at the Phillies game! I expect some sweet costume pics!

1 down, 3 to go!
ROAD TO REPEAT!

Risen from the Dead

I AM BACK PEOPLE.

Feeling better but still have a little hill to climb to get to 100%! Doctor said I could be back at work, so I guess I'm not contagious (cough, cough, COUGH, COUGH).

The guest blogger this week will be CHRISTINE!

First of all, NONE OF YOU (except Ashley) said what you were being for Halloween. I'll be posting pictures at the end of this with the costumes I am trying to execute this weekend.

Here is my question for the week (4 days late):
When people in the office are out sick, how do you pick up the slack? What about if you're the one that's out sick? How do you handle your workload when you come back into the office?

Get better everyone..and happy clean up day!

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Halloween, Friday night:
Halloween, Saturday night:

What would you say you DO here at SHM?

Q: Describe SHM to a prospective member.

A: With the work that has been done in the past few months on branding the society in any response it is important to capture the feeling that is in our tagline/positioning statement:

TAGLINE
Hospitalists. Transforming Healthcare. Revolutionizing Patient Care.

POSITIONING STATEMENT
The Society of Hospital Medicine is THE national organization for hospitalist. We are leading the transformation and improvement of care for the hospitalized patient through innovation, collaboration, and action.

Other things that prospective members are always curious about are SHM's events, with the majority of questions being about our Annual Meeting and Leadership Academy. Followed by questions about our publications, specifically the Journal of Hospital Medicine.

As far as Halloween goes… I think for the first time in my 27 years of life I am boycotting the holiday BUT if for some crazy reason I need a last minute costume… Bubble Boy it is.

My 1st SHM Exhibit Experience!

This past weekend I took part in my first SHM exhibit experience at the Marriott Hotel and although things ran rather smoothly, it was not a busy exhibit. Something tells me that hanging out with the other exhibitors watching youtube videos is not what SHM had in mind for me. But at least I got to spend time with Meredith and John.

We chatted and got to know each other better and ate at Reading Terminal Market. The Market is probably one of the best spots in the city because of all of the food choices and interesting people. Where else can you eat the best slice of pizza and a Phillies cupcake while watching the Philly Idol Talent Show? For anyone who has walked on 12th and Filbert you know exactly what I'm talking about :-) If not, you need to visit and report back with your own experience.

On another note...more than half of my department is sick! What's a girl to do when she doesn't want to get sick herself? I wash my hands and use Purell regularly but this is getting serious. Yikes! Trying to stay strong...

Later Gators!
Celisse