I just have to get this off my chest, before I strangle them all.
I'm a department head in a healthcare field, and I have 6 staff members that report directly to me - 4 FT and 2 PT, in addition to interns. Right now, half of my department is made up of people that I brought in since I started working here almost two years ago. In all of those instances, the girls were my interns, and positions opened after their internship was over, and I asked them to apply for the position, because of their great work and good working relationships with me and the rest of the staff.
We work for a great facility. Most nursing homes aren't ideal working places - believe me, I've worked in my fair share of them. However, ours is beautiful and very well-managed. We've been listed in the top nursing homes in the US. My staff are better paid than any of their counterparts in other homes, benefits are 100% covered, they all get $4,000/year in tuition reimbursement as they pursue their graduate degrees. There are also more people in the department than any other facility of our size in a 100 mile radius (at least!), making their workload smaller. Our company pays for all of their CEU's (including lodging/meals when needed), re-certifications, and professional memberships. For this field of non-profit homes for the aging, they have some of the best positions in the country, IMO.
BUT... they're all a bunch of spoiled little assholes! Everything they do lately has got me on edge. They complain about their basic job duties constantly! Generally I think I'm a pretty good boss. I treat them with respect, ask for their feedback and opinions, involve them in decisions about our department, praise their work when they do a good job with something, and encourage them to follow their hearts (I have two staff members in grad school for another field and I'm so happy for them that they've found something they're really interested in. I've been supportive throughout all of their schooling).
Just a few of the issues I've been having with them in the past few months:
They were all informed when hired that since we never close, they would be expected to be here in bad weather. We have options, such as staying over (and getting a hefty pay bonus to do so), taking the facility bus from a central location, and being picked up by me, since most of them live somewhere on my path to work. We discuss this every time it's supposed to snow, and STILL I get teary phone calls about how they shouldn't have to be at work, because the dusting of snow on the ground is slippery (this is after myself and everyone else in the building has already somehow made it to work in the snow). The truth of the matter is that our company policy states that if they call out due to snow, disciplinary action occurs. When I remind them of this, I'm a big meanie, of course.
My staff typically are on the floor most of the day, but have periods of time when they need to do office work. Two of the FT staff share one office, and the other two share another office. One of my FT's is always in the office of the other staff members because they're her "friends". She uses their computer - forcing them to hold off on their own work, and when she's not doing that, she chit chatting about the new Bachelor or what's going on with celebrities... or better yet, gossiping about other people in the building. Aside from this shitty behavior, she's actually wonderful with the residents, and my boss unfortunately loves her. Nevertheless, I discipline her for disrupting the routine of her co-workers, not following break policies, and not reporting to her own work area. It's not something I enjoy doing, but it's part of the job. Once again, I'm the meanie who punished the poor defenseless little girl.
I have a new intern starting on Monday, and I typically have them eat lunch with me on their first day, and eat lunch with my staff on their second day so that they can get to know people. I reminded my staff that this would be occurring on Tuesday, and my newest staff member replied, "Great, now we have to disrupt our whole routine for this person..." Because, you know, adding another chair at the lunch table is so disruptive. Not to mention that the girl who said this was my intern over the summer and ate lunch with the staff every day. I made it clear to her that her response was rude and unwelcoming, but guess who's the meanie?
Today I walked in on all of them talking shit about me, because I've been coming down on them and expecting them to actually do their work.
The fact is that 5 of the 6 are in their early 20's and still really immature. They're gossipy and dramatic, and like to bitch about everything until they blow it totally out of proportion. Their sense of entitlement is astronomical.
I'm at my wits end here. We are a small department, and quite honestly I'd rather us all just get along. I'm just at a loss for how to do that while still promoting productivity among them.
Tonight there's going to be a huge bottle of wine open at my house.
ETR: Some useless information.