Ways to raise Morale

[aristigal]

Ok I need some suggestions. Recently we have been having some internal problems and people in this section seem to like f with each other. I am looking for ways to improve the morale around here. There has been some bs surrounding on co-worker and we thought he quit this week and then he recinded it. So we are stuck with him for now. I just thought you might have some ideas. We sometimes to bbq's here when we are working but what else can we do?

 

[TTLWHKR]

We had a "morale team"...

every blue moon they gave us new t-shirts, coats, hats... and every six months we got a pack of cheap *** bic pens w/ the squad name on them.
At christmas they sent an "employee package" it had product samples-a JEMS subscription, hats, t-shirts, a SAMS Club card subscription, gift certificates, candy, an EMS ornament, etc. Something for everyone in the family.

Every year we had a picnic too...

Other than that what can ya do?

It's a stressful job with a high burn out rate. You can't make people happy with wholesale gifts.

We had a suggestion box for the Morale Team, I would always wrote

G-R-O-U-P T-H-E-R-A-P-Y

exactly like that.

 

[MMiz]

Originally posted by aristigal@Jun 25 2005, 07:35 PM
Ok I need some suggestions. Recently we have been having some internal problems and people in this section seem to like f with each other. I am looking for ways to improve the morale around here. There has been some bs surrounding on co-worker and we thought he quit this week and then he recinded it. So we are stuck with him for now. I just thought you might have some ideas. We sometimes to bbq's here when we are working but what else can we do?

I still get butterflies in my stomach most times I go to work. This is a year and a half after I started in EMS. I'm the guy that goes in there excited and cracks everyone up. But last shift even I had a hard one, and I just felt as though everything was wrong with our company and EMS. That brought the whole mood down.

The truth is, you can raise morale by being an example. Company-wide, gathers like BBQs and picnics are always good. I'm sure a google search for "Morale Boosters" will have better suggestions.

Here are some they do at my company:
- Burger Bucks - Management regularly gives $5 gift certificates to fast food places to employees that go above and beyond the call of duty
- Recognition Forms - A couple weeks ago I got something in my mailbox from the CEO of our company. It said "I recognized (My Name) for always being in a genuinely good mood. A lot of people take notice and appreciate it. It was signed by three medics that I admire and work with. Even as an adult it was nice to see it in my mailbox. This is a company-wide form that are available in the crew lounge. I just never noticed it, until now
- "EMT/Medic of the Month - Around here employees with the fastest response and clearing times get recognized and get to park in front of the building for a month. Usually we have to park a ways away and walk down a small hill to get to our station. In the winter this is nice.

I wish I had more but google has tons of resources.

Good luck

 

[vtemti]

In Vermont we always have a spring party. Usually a cookout that lasts well into the evening (sometimes morning). In the beginning we also did joke awards for some of the crazy or dumb things that were done during the previous year. Last year we had alot of food left so, we had a second party at the end of the summer.

Last month I had to train them again on HIPAA rules. Knowing its a dry boring subject, I bought them all pizza. Seemed to pacify them during the session.

We are also blessed to have a crew that looks out for one another, even off duty. If something seems to be wrong someone usually will pick up on it and talk to the individual. Kinda like therapy.

I have found that almost everyone responds to the little things such as a thank you or good job etc.. Example: I try to make it a point to thank everyone that was with me on a call.

Probably not much help, but I think every group is different and will respond to different things. Just keep experimenting until you find the right one. Good Luck

 

[CO Barrel Racer]

What everyone else has already said + tell everyone you love them...you'd be surprised how this affects people.....

 

[TTLWHKR]

Originally posted by CO Barrel Racer@Jun 29 2005, 01:59 AM
What everyone else has already said + tell everyone you love them...you'd be surprised how this affects people.....

They'd have me committed if I told them that.. Really.. They would!

 

[Ridryder911]

Those are neat ideas & I will try some of them..

I tried this one about 3 weeks ago... every day, I complimented at least one medic on something he/she did... at least one per shift. It is funny, within, a few shifts.. how much more friendly & nicer they had became. Every one like kuddos & pats on the back..

I found that negativity is like a bad cancer ......it mutates & spread rapidly...

Be safe,
Ridryder 911

 

[40sCutest]

Since I'm the youngest person that rides my squad I like to keep reminding people of it. It's funny to see them laugh when I whine about being made to do something because I'm the little girl.... It's all in good fun though. I also looooooooooooooooooooooooooooove to cook so I do it all the time and bring it to the station. Sometimes I'll bake a "Long Shift Smile." A cake with a smiley face on it for people who work a 24 hour shift to help out the company. And at the end of every call I say thanks to the crew, after all I'm still learning alot and they teach me more than my EMT school did.

Hope it helps!

<3<3

 

[Chimpie]

Great suggestions everyone. Here's one:

Rent out the bowling hall for a night (or maybe a few lanes) and get everyone to go. Maybe get some shirts made up or something.

 

[Stevo]

toga!........toga!.......... TOGA!

 

[rescuecpt]

Nah, I don't want to see my squad in Togas.... half of us would end up in the ER with our retinas burned...

 

[DT4EMS]

I have found that EMS and law enforcement are much more alike than we are different. When we get together it seems that if we let it, the converstaions will turn negative.

I have spent nearly 15 years in EMS and nearly 11 in law enforcement. I think the reason I have survived is my refusal to worry about stuff I can't change. I also refuse to be a part of a negative discussion. I will always acknowledge what someone is saying and try to put a positive twist on it.

I noticed that when I stay positive, people are always inviting me places....lunch parties whatever. The trick (IMO) is to make your partner, co-worker feel better about themself. When I do that, they get in a better mood and that in turn helps me fee better.

I dunno if works for other people, I have just seen it work for me.

Just like in medic school when they taught "anxiety breeds anxiety" so does kindness.

 

[911 DJ]

Originally posted by CO Barrel Racer@Jun 29 2005, 01:59 AM
What everyone else has already said + tell everyone you love them...you'd be surprised how this affects people.....

I love you too, but you're still not getting my Bud Lite!

 

[RALS504]

I like practical jokes or joking around.
For example:

Leave a note on another ambulance out at the hospital and sign it XOXOXO.
D-50, KY jelly, or oral glucose on the door handles.
Put activated charcoal on the strering wheel.
Ice placed in other crew's seats on a hot summer day.
An IV set at a very slow TKO over someone's bedding.
If you are doing an interfaclity transfer you could send your green partner with the gurney or a cart to get 10,000 units of Heparin from pharmacy.
As one of my partners use to say, "Poop is the word of the days, it is spelled the same backwards/forward".
There is just a few to get you started, now go brighten another crew's day.

 

[Jon]

The last few weeks have been tough at the squad... in 2 weeks, we had two fatal MVA's with fire, Single car crashes, single occupant, on the same strech of road, 100 feet apart. We had a motorcyclist doing 60 MPH through town lose it and hit a car, lost control and was DOA... We had a plane crash after takeoff the next company over, at the same time we were working a "coupe vs. Box truck" MVA with heavy entrapment. We've had one member leave on a "undetermined length Leave of Absence" partly because they were on both MVA's with fire.

Oh... the biker and the 2 MVA's with fire were all about the same age - one of the 2 MVA's was a member of a local FD, and the biker was friends with a lot of the younger members of the local Co's.... and 2 of the 3 went to high school together...

So, we have had a nasty few weeks.

Saturday, when I opened the paper, the Editoral collumn, which does a "Roses/Thorns" piece every week that highlights good and bad news of the week:

Police, others do their jobs in week of tragedy
Roses and Thorns 08/27/2005

It was a sad and busy Monday for local law enforcement and emergency personnel -- especially those in West Goshen. At 10:25 a.m., a truck and SUV were involved in a serious accident at Phoenixville Pike and Route 322. About 10 minutes later and just a few miles away, a single-engine plane crashed just south of the Brandywine Airport. Both the pilot and his passenger lost their lives.

Later that day, 20-year-old Dayne Thomas lost his life in a motorcycle accident in the Borough of West Chester.

The days following Monday remained busy and tragic for area police and emergency personnel.

Early on Thursday, Eric Larsen of West Goshen lost his life in an accident on Pottstown Pike in West Chester.

Police, firemen and EMTs deal with tragedy all the time; it’s part and parcel of their work. But we imagine that doesn’t make it any easier after weeks like this one. With that in mind, we present Roses to our local emergency personnel for the jobs they do.

From 8/27/2005 Daily Local News: http://www.dailylocal.com/site/news.cfm?ne..._id=17782&rfi=8

(I can't get the link to work - cut and paste)

That just about made my day. I wasn't on any of the listed calls, but had friends on them. I had one of my own Saturday night, Auto/Ped in the middle of town.... college kid, +ETOH, GCS of 3

I posted copies at the station... everyone was very happy....

Jon

 

[rescuejew]

morale boost??? whats that?

Heres how it works in my dept: IF you get a written thanks from someone in the community over the span of the month, at the end of the month they will draw a name out of a hat and that person is employee of the month.

Other than that if you come in with a great save or a rare dx you happened to pull out of your *** that was right that just happened to save the pt from sudden death...you get to have just did your job. No Atta-boys, that was what we are paid to do. (our dept has ridiculously low morale btw)