Whether you like it or not, you spend a great deal of your life at work. In fact, it is estimated that the average person will spend over 13 years of her life at work. Because this is such a huge part of your life, you want to feel happy and fulfilled while on the job. No matter how much you love your career, the people with whom you work can quickly bring you down if they tend to be negative individuals.
Unlike your spouse and friends, you most likely have little to no choice in whom you work with, and you will probably find yourself searching for ways to get along with other nurses around you over the years. If you are dealing with too much nursing station negativity most days at work, here are a few ways for you to stop being part of the problem and instead become a means of gaining the solution.
Look for Positive People and Avoid the Negative
If you stop and consider the negativity swirling around you at the nursing station, you may be surprised to discover that it is most likely only two or three nurses or unit clerks who tend to bring much of the bad attitudes to work. Others may be more positive or may simply not have as much to say in the face of so many complaints from others. By seeking out positive people rather than those who are negative, rude or known for gossip, you can significantly impact your own mood.
Do Not Be a Part of the Problem
It can be easy to unload your concerns and problems immediately on those around you. Instead of complaining as soon as you sit down at the nursing station, take some time for a few deep breaths, and remember that one bad experience does not have to set the tone for your whole day.
Care for Yourself
By taking time for self-care when you are away from work, you will be strong enough to withstand the negativity swirling around you after clocking in to your job. Take the time to eat healthy, exercise, meditate, relax and get enough sleep.
Both positivity and negativity are incredibly contagious. Just as you may have found that hanging around with negative nurses at the nursing station made you feel like complaining about your day, changing your mindset to a positive one may be all that is needed to shift the focus of many of the nurses around you. It can be incredibly easy to find something negative about nearly any circumstance in your workday. However, remember that you are in charge of your own feelings. Despite the circumstances surrounding you, you can choose to look within rather than without for your happiness.
In some cases, nursing station negativity may be more than just occasional complaining about uncaring supervisors, unwelcome hours or difficult patients. If your experience on your nursing unit is becoming truly toxic, you may need to find a more aggressive option for dealing with it. Rather than letting the negativity affect your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health, it may be time to look for a transfer to a new unit or to take some extended time off, using up all of those vacation hours that you have accrued.