Positive words promote teamwork
If you can't say something nice, keep quiet
Imagine the joy of a workplace where everyone makes an effort to point out what you do well instead of focusing on your mistakes or shortcomings. One director of case management found that for her staff, praise from co-workers was a wonderful stress reducer and morale builder.
"Roughly once a month, we would post a notice that read: `Catch them doing something right,'" says Barbara Luttrell, RN, BSN, ABQUR, CDMCS, a nurse consultant and former director of workplace health services for Cerulean Workplace Health in Atlanta. "Imagine having one day when nobody was going to criticize you, and you knew you wouldn't be evaluated. It generated a great deal of positive behavior."
For example, not only were case managers kinder and gentler to each other on those days, but also to clients. "We encouraged case managers to find something positive in their client's behaviors as well. If a client returned a phone call, the case manager might say, `Gee, you returned my call right away - that was really great,'" Luttrell says. "We are in a business where people are sick and often sad. The day was an oasis of positive energy we really enjoyed."
In addition, at the department's daily afternoon briefing, case managers go around the table and say 10 positive things about their co-workers. "Case managers often hear so many complaints from employers, from patients, from physicians, that hearing positive comments is very cleansing."
Since she left Cerulean to start her own company, the "Catch them doing something right" sign has been packed away, she says. "I have received countless e-mail messages from my former staff members. The climate has changed and they miss it. An effort like this takes support from management and an interest in keeping it going, but the rewards in improved work performance and attitude are worth the effort."
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