Work is crazy. Between holidays, maternity leave, sick staff and two resignations it's pretty exciting trying to keep up with everything. The past couple of days haven't helped. Dogs with broken tails, cats with kidney failure, surgical patients with heart murmurs... it's been endless. So we have a newbie and she knows her stuff. There are times that she speaks before she thinks or acts, but for the most part she knows her stuff.
What I don't know is how to motivate her. When in doubt, she sits. No looking around, checking on patients, dishes, laundry, labels, etc. She sits. When she is working and has tasks to do, she works hard, does them well and I can count on her to do the things she is asked or says that she will do. But it's the initiative that leaves me wondering.
How do you learn initiative? Is it natural? Does come with caring or taking pride in your work? Do you get it from your friends or your parents? Can it be taught? Is it possible to take someone with no initiative and give them the tools to build it and use it to create a promising career and a valuable role for themselves? There are theories about generation gaps, city vs. country, educated vs. uneducated - there are way too many variables to consider.
My solutions so far have been subtle. Or maybe not so subtle. I took the stools, turned them upside down and tucked them away. Then I literally said, "No time to sit! Let's get moving." I have to remember that not everyone has the same energy level I do sometimes. When I am rested and enjoying my job, I am hard to keep up with. Thinking a few steps ahead, jumping in all over and trying to communicate my thoughts all at the same time. It's mental and physical.
But I can't "fix" her. Who am I to say that she is wrong? My thought process is, "Let's get this done, do it well and move onto the next challenge. Chop! Chop!" There are times I wonder what the hurry is myself. Why try to fit so much in all in this little space of time? At work, it's easy - the excuse/reason is that we have a schedule to follow and clients and bosses to please.
In life, I fill my time. I've stayed up to make time for this blog and despite the fact that it seems like I'm just adding stress, I'm starting to find it relaxing. I can reflect, process and actually come to little realizations like the one that my new co-worker doesn't live to work. She works to live and build a life. That is a good goal. She isn't "broken". I don't need to fix her, I need to strike a similar balance. But without the sitting.
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