We’re in a bit of a funk at my Agency right now. Like every sector of the world of employment, people are leaving. Word is, pandemics (and probably stimmy checks) are giving folks an opportunity to take a pause and re-evaluate their lives. This makes it tough for those who stay behind. There’s a fair amount of training required in my job. As there should be. We are involved in some big stuff in people’s lives. We owe it to the families we serve to properly train the workers. And, this leads to a lag between when someone’s hired and when they are given full responsibility thus giving some breathing room to the workers who’ve been picking up the slack.
Short staffing and pandemic circumstances have led to a lot of yuck. In March of 2020. We all buckled our seatbelts for a 3 week lock down that’s turned in to a year and a half of daily uncertainty and worry. There’s been division and fear, and the hits just keep coming. The fatigue of managing feelings about it all has led to a decrease in ability/willingness to tolerate adversity. We may have handled something different in 2019 than we do today if no other reason than we’re just tired.
As a result, a phrase that I’m hearing a lot lately is that “morale is bad.”
We are lucky to work with people who’s hearts are in it for the work they do and they people they do it with. When shit gets real, you can count on people to rally without hesitation to each other’s aid or to meet the needs of the community. Without exception. It’s a thing of beauty to see.
But when were struggling, it can be easy to lose sight of this very important truth; morale is everyone’s responsibility.
Morale isn’t something that any leadership can dial up on their own. Obviously when there’s concrete changes that are within their power to address, they should. If, for example, supervisors were releasing a swarm of bees into the office every day at 2 pm because they like the sound of it, that’s a thing they should stop doing. But if the expectation is that they change the suck of the world, that just ain’t gonna happen.
Ironically, I’m sounding like I’m complaining as I say we shouldn’t complain. I’m not trying to. Folks are all keenly aware of the steps people take consistently to lift up each other. Whether it’s motorcycle balloons, ordering matching shirts, baked goods, kick ass magnets, group gifts, or just being someone’s second on an investigation; that amazingness matters.
However, what’s also noticed is when people complain about morale. The very action contributes to the toxicity. Over complaining about morale is essentially as effective as complaining about sand in your eye as you are rubbing more sand in your eye. It’s counter productive to the goal at hand. Maybe it’s out there and I just didn’t look hard enough, but I did a brief research review and wasn’t able to find any thing that says grumbling improves mood.
This is easy to misinterpret, so I want to be crystal clear about a few things:
- If you have ideas for solutions, absolutely share them. Time after time, the best solutions come from folks actually doing the thing
- Keep doing all the amazing stuff to support your peers. Rather consistently, it’s our peers that keep us motivated and fueled to do incredible things
And finally,…
- This blog is the personal opinion of one worker. If it’s struck a nerve, that’s my responsibility alone. (ugh….I’m starting to think I’ll never learn when to keep my mouth closed)
We can’t control the status of the world, but we can control how we react to it. If I had a wish; it would be that when that urge to point out how shitty things are hits, take a moment of pause. Do you have an idea for a solution? Share it, please! Trust me, it is needed. And then ask yourself will complaining make you feel better? Or does it run the risk of shoving more sand in your eye?
Thanks for reading, and remember; this is just one person’s observations and opinions.
Bifocals and Barbells 