Empty Headspace

CAUTION: RANT WARNING!!!

I would really, really like to know what (if anything) the higher-ups are thinking here at work.

We have 5 cottages open right now, all Level 6 (the next level up is the mental hospital) & we are already short-staffed. We are also supposed to open a temporary shelter for boys here in the next week. How in the world are we supposed to do that when staff are already working overtime like crazy (a friend worked 130 hours in the last 2-week pay period)?

No wonder the turn-over rate is so high. They tell new hires one thing (new overnights don't have to cook as they will always be working with someone who's been here a while & the other person can do that) & then stick them in a completely different situation (the regular person is on vacation or sick & 2 noobies are working together & neither knows how to cook). They try to implement new plans without thinking whether they are logical in the first place or even legal. People are promoted depending on who their buddy is. Certain jobs aren't even posted to the rest of the company, just offered to someone. Until they want to demote someone & then everyone with that same job title has to reapply for their job, just so they can get rid of that one guy.

Granted, it's a little better than it used to be. I lost count of the number of times I worked by myself in a cottage with 12 kids (2 staff are legally needed if there are more than 10 kids), a co-ed cottage, mind you (we were supposed to have 2 staff for that no matter the number of clients). Not to mention the times that no one was scheduled to replace me. I was supposed to work 12am-12pm on Saturdays & 12am-9am on Sundays (so I could make it to the Sunday School class I helped with) but stayed until 2 or 3 in the afternoon most every time due to no staff. One weekend I was the only one on the schedule on the Sunday overnight, no one was scheduled at all from 9am-noon & a fairly new lady was the only one scheduled from noon-midnight. I had worked 18 hours the previous day & couldn't get anyone to help me. I had emailed & talked to my supervisor for several weeks before that day & she said would take care of it. Guess what - she went on vacation that week with nothing set up. I worked until 6pm that Sunday night, when I broke down in tears from being so tired (and I don't cry). Then they finally got someone in there to help. GAHHH!

And don't get me started on the therapists - I'm liking the one we have now, but one guy (who's thankfully not here anymore) about drove several staff to quit. He had his Master's & my theory is that he sat in classes for so long that his brain rotted & was thereafter incapable of using anything resembling common sense. He said that we weren't allowed to restrain the kids for physical aggression. They could be tearing stuff off your car & putting as many dents & scratches as they like in it, but oh no, we mustn't restrain the poor little dears. (slight sarcasm there) I had a plan - if they wanted to tear up a vehicle, they could do anything they wanted to the green station wagon & I wouldn't touch them. Mess with another car though, and I wouldn't pay a lick of attention to what little Mr. Therapist-Boy said. One kid hit a staff with a plastic hanger, so the staff gently put her hand on the boy's arm & guided him to time out. When she got back to the office, the therapist chewed her out & said she shouldn't have done that. Yeah, nothin' like letting a kid get away with hitting staff.

I sooo need another job.

/rant off