No one wants to be left behind

I think we can all agree that, all things being equal, we would prefer to do the leaving rather than being left behind.  Whether it is relationships of the personal or professional persuasion, we would all prefer to be the master's of our own fate.  We all want to believe we are valuable and are bigger than the whole.

I am seeing that now at work.  The nurse who runs the MH clinic has been doing so for about 20 years.  She has dedicated the vast majority of her nursing career there.  She is very unhappy about the now looming buyout which will: A. move her to a new organization and B. strip her of her charge role.  She is also now on a very sudden leave of absence.  I was there filling in for her yesterday (and tomorrow.....and however many other days to be determined).  The likelihood is that she is seeking other employment.  Her patients said as much to me. One mentioned that it, "never hurts to put fear in management by letting them know you are looking for another job."  I was thinking about that fear.

The 'fear' I think she is hoping to strike is more or less related to what she sees as her value to the organization.  That value is transient however.  Had she done something like this a year ago, it would have carried more weight.  Now, with 3 months until they unload the clinic altogether, it is unclear how much power she actually has vs. how much she thinks she does.

Ultimately, I feel for her.  She has committed herself to an organization that, like the vast majority of all organizations, values not your body of work, but what you can provide in the present.  She is not looking at what opportunities she might have at the new place, but rather what she is leaving behind (though they certainly have not treated that clinic, and in effect her, well.  It is certainly the only clinic that I could actively look down upon compared to my own).  For the organization, the clinics no longer had enough value to maintain them as they were and therefore the staff of those clinics were expendable.  To their credit, they seem to have fought fairly hard to keep positions for everyone with the new ownership (though there may be other motivations).

Part of this is generational.  I don't think that most people in my generation (and those that follow) will have the same kind of careers our parents mostly had.  It will be rare for anyone to start and end their career with the same organization.  This lack of commitment is a two way street however.  We know that we need to keep our eyes open for other opportunities because we are mostly an expendable commodity.  It you are worth more than you cost, you are kept, but if that equation is inverted...well, better you have some lifelines already in place.  So, while I am obviously nervous to lose my built up goodwill with management and relationships, I am also somewhat excited by the opportunity to work with other people, learn new skills, and potentially find an even better situation.

What this means to me and everyone else in the meantime is yet another barrier to staffing.  No one knows when she will come back from leave, or even if.  While she is hoping to leverage her position and skills and show up management, what she is ultimately doing is hurting her co-workers and supervisors who have no power to change anything.  Considering this, she would likely be better off to have her frustrations known while showing up and being a professional.  However, the result is not likely to change no matter how she chooses to behave; change is coming whether you embrace it or you do not.  I just hope she finds something to make her happy and that, if it helps her feel better about things, she can do the leaving on her terms.  In the meantime, I think this summer is going to be a tough one on the rest of us.