is my supervisor being nasty or am i just paranoid?

[MissSMcc]

i work in a care home, i got one of the residents washed and dressed this morning, took her through to the dining room for her breakfast. the supervisior was there, she said something about the residents hair. i told her i had brushed it but it wouldnt stay down, but that i would do it again. this woman has very fluffy hair that is quite hard to get neat. i got her brush and did it again, but apparently it still wasnt good enough because my supervisor picked up the brush and re-did it. fair enough. but then she turned to one of my co-workers and said 'did you work here when (some womans name) worked here?' my coworker said 'no, why?' supervisior then said 'oh nothing, just that nothing got done right.' so im thinking that comment was aimed at me.

the reason im quite anxious about impressing my supervisors etc is that i only started the job a couple of weeks ago, and in the past while a lot of residents have passed away so the home is losing alot of money, and are now slightly overstaffed. my supervisor cant fire me, but im sure she reports to the 'big boss' on how we are all doing. i understand it's last in, first out, but i so don't want to get fired.

[SapphireNoir10]

I dont think you'll get fired. Unfortunatley sometimes people above us work wise go a bit power crazy, enjoying making workers lives miserable. Just be on time to work, work hard and do your best and they have no reason to fire you.

[sugarpiehoney]

I worked in a nursing home and totally understand that some of them have some unruly hair. Most of my residents got their hair done at the hair dressers so they were set for awhile...but for those that didn't a little spray gel, mousse or just plain water to help tame the wild bed head worked fine. I know that it is against policy to keep stuff like that on you to use. But however you can get a travel size and give it to them so that it is strictly for them and then you will never have that problem again.

Don't worry about getting fired and just keep a journal of when your supervisor makes comments like that most likely she has done that before to others and will continue...if your residents are well taken care of and not neglected or abused you have nothing to worry about.

[Silverbirch]

Hi! I work as a supervisor in disability, and I think I know where your boss is likely coming from. I doubt her comments were specifically aimed at you. Maybe some people would regard me as picky about some things - client appearance would be one of them - but hey, that's one of the reasons I was put in that job. That is, to see that the clients are well cared for and to try and shift the previous culture which was very slack.

 

Your supervisor could very well, and in fact, I would say with 99% certainty have issues on her mind which she can't disclose. We have to deal with so many issues on official levels related to breach of duty of care. In the facility I work, I found out about some terrible things which had been going on. I've also had to deal with some slack workers and make sure things improved. I really don't think the comment was aimed at you. When you have had a worker in a facility, especially like the woman your supervisor alluded to, they can set the standards for how the work is done in that newer workers follow their practice.

 

As for saying people can get power crazy, that's true, but not necessarily her motive. I've had to become a very hands-own manager to keep my eye on what was going on, to raise the standards, and to help train newer people.

 

Something very important to me is how workers take criticism. If people are polite and take criticism constructively and don't make a big deal, that is a VERY BIG plus for them, and I will respect them for it. It means that they are trainable. If people get over-sensitive and defensive about every criticism, and especially if they don't take that criticism on board for change, then I will keep an eye on that person because it does raise a red flag for me.

 

Don't worry too much. Doubt that you would get the sack, and I think you might easily get another job very soon if they had to put off some workers which may not even happen. Good luck.

[MissSMcc]

i think maybe i am being a bit sensitive. SilverBirch i agree that client appearance is important, i would just rather my supervisor had come out and said 'her hair still isn't right, this is how we fix it' and showed me how to do it, instead of making a funny comment and doing it herself. i really want to learn the job properly, but i'm not a mind reader.

[Silverbirch]

I've probably been guilty of doing things like that myself sometimes, just so much on my mind, not always thinking those things out. I agree it's better to show people how to do things.

 

I recall about 2 weeks ago, coming into work one morning and saw that one of our clients who wasn't far off leaving for the day looked as though he hadn't been shaven for a couple of days. I asked the staff why this young man looked like Kramer from Seinfeld this morning. I did go and shave him myself that day. Other reason is, I actually LIKE doing some of the personal care for myself, ie I like the connection with clients, and stayed in the field because I like it, and maybe your boss does too.

[abitbroken]

If she has thicky, fuzzy hair, what about using a detangler or combing it through?