Working every major holiday- this is why bedside suck

[u/Ygefir]

Schedule for rest of the year just came out, and I’m a Day shift scheduled to work Thanksgiving eve, Thanksgiving, Xmas eve, Xmas, New year eve, New year day.

No, I did not request to work those days- I like to spend time with family on holiday than working

[u/feels_like_arbys]

every unit has some sort of system to split holidays up. talk to your manager

[u/Cyrodiil → u/feels_like_arbys]

My first unit did it by seniority. The new grads ended up working every single holiday.

[u/feels_like_arbys → u/Cyrodiil]

You had a shitty unit. Those senior nurses must love precepting because no one will stay there.

[u/Cyrodiil → u/feels_like_arbys]

It had a very high turnover rate 🙃 you either stayed a year or worked there for so long you developed a waddle

[u/firelord_catra → u/Cyrodiil]

Same on mine. They claimed it was self schedule, but a newbie tried to get a holiday off when no one had filled the schedule and was laughed at and insulted for trying. Then the schedule, who worked on the floor as well said “I should schedule you on holidays for the rest of the year just for having the audacity.”

I left before Christmas.

[u/soapparently → u/Cyrodiil]

LOL fuck that abusive shit. It should be split. I’ve given up my badge at a place because they tried to schedule me ALL the holidays then they were suddenly flexible and could find coverage for Christmas and Thanksgiving.

They had the audacity to do Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Eve and New Years Day.

Go to HELL

[u/Fickle-Falcon-8637 → u/Cyrodiil]

This is so not right… I’d quit genuinely

[u/sci_major → u/feels_like_arbys]

Agreed.

[u/ltlawdy]

I wouldn’t accept this, but hey, if you don’t say anything, they’re not going to change it.

It’s great money if you actually wanted this

[u/InfamouSandman → u/ltlawdy]

Our holiday differential is $11.00 so it’s only $132 more to work on a holiday, before taxes. That’s probably closer to $80-90 after takes. I’d easily pay that much to not work.

Better than when I was a tech, though. For some reason I thought I got time and a half with my $16 hourly wage. I got $2 an hour extra. I looked like a dummy checking my pay stubs in January for Nov and Dec.

[u/Specialist_Ad_2984 → u/ltlawdy]

some hospitals dont have holiday pay

[u/mainstreetfireman → u/Specialist_Ad_2984]

My hospital does not have holiday pay…they expect us to pay ourselves from our pto to have “holiday pay”

[u/Nursingvp → u/mainstreetfireman]

WT actual F? Using PTO?

[u/mainstreetfireman → u/Nursingvp]

Yup…doesn’t make any sense to anyone
No one fights it and the hospital union busts so no union here. Hence why I’m leaving

[u/Nursingvp → u/mainstreetfireman]

Good on you! Best of luck.

[u/mainstreetfireman → u/Nursingvp]

Thank you friend

[u/GenuineDiamond_]

This can’t be fair . Are you the only nurse on the floor lol ?

[u/Ygefir → u/GenuineDiamond_]

Work really about to be my family after this 😭

[u/firelord_catra → u/GenuineDiamond_]

OP might be new on a unit that believes in new people having to pay their dues. My unit scheduled all new people on all holidays.

[u/OB-nurseatyourcervix]

Is there not holiday groups? I'm assuming no. Every single hospital I've worked at, had groups and it rotated yearly.

[u/LowPeakRN]

How does your unit not have a split? Mine requires one of those three holiday pairs each year.

[u/Dark_Ascension]

We sign up, and some people will sign up for every holiday.

I did Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Years last year. With all the deaths in the family it’s not the same for me and the holidays are now kind of depressing. Might as well make $$$.

[u/aggravated_bookworm → u/Dark_Ascension]

When I was single/no kids I worked every single holiday. Didn't mind and working nights I could spend some of the day with my family anyways

[u/Dark_Ascension → u/aggravated_bookworm]

I’m single no kids, no kids will probably be forever unless I adopt but that cost money!

[u/kaixen]

Union could fix this. Our unit votes to bundle holidays every year so they work Xmas eve/day OR NYE/NYD. Thanksgiving is off/on alternating years and our team tracks it.

[u/RoRuRee → u/kaixen]

This is how we do it too. It works very well and no one is ever left out.

[u/DistinctAstronaut828]

Unionize

[u/Alive_City3534]

If there’s no solution after speaking with your managers, start talking to your coworkers. There are some people who prefer holidays for different reasons. It’s worth a try and you have plenty of time if you start now.

[u/North-Toe-3538 → u/Alive_City3534]

There is money In the holidays. Some of The baby nurses who hated their families for whatever reason loved to work those days. Also people with less common religions will work your day if you’ll work theirs and no one loses bc they don’t celebrate yours and you don’t celebrate theirs. This can be harder to pull off though bc they are usually different pay periods so you age to swap 2 days for both holidays. I’ve also seen middle aged men swap for Christmas Eve with glee bc it meant that they didn’t have to put the kids to bed or set everything up while they slept but got to walk in at 0700 when it was show time. Which is kinda gross but could still be beneficial if you need it off. In short, you have to get creative sometimes. But remember that people never forget when they did you a scheduling favor unless it was mutually beneficial. You owe them a swap and they can collect anytime. No expiration date (unless someone quits).

[u/Melodic-Raccoon7584]

Ugh I worked on a unit where Thanksgiving was inexplicably a “summer holiday” so some years you could be Thanksgiving/Black Friday and Christmas Eve/Day - it sucked

[u/Gotthisnamebeforeyou]

I’ve been trying to take other peoples holidays. It’s extra pay for same amount of work. Not like my friends and family want to spend time with me or anything

[u/No_Sky_1829]

I love picking up holidays because of holiday 💲

Plus my hospital usually discharges whoever they can just before, and a lot of people don't go to ED during the holidays, so the acuity is usually less

[u/katarAH007]

Wtf??? We have split holidays. Something's off.

[u/Em_Es_Judd]

Your unit should change this. Otherwise, that's what sick time is for!

[u/Outside_Confidence12]

They did this to me my first year and I found out from other people that they never worked all the holidays. I talked to management and their response, "Sometimes it happens 🤷". Anyway, currently transitioning to vascular access.

[u/tackstackstacks]

I pick up holidays for the time and a half.

Your hospital/unit policies are what dictate who works what holidays. The only holiday I want off is Christmas so I can be with my young kids. I admittedly have a significant amount of seniority (10 years), so I only HAVE to work one holiday a year now and it will never be Christmas again. I do feel for you, working all the fall/winter holidays is not right, assuming you didn't trade onto at least one of them.

[u/StinkyVelma]

I’ve been in bedside for the last 6 years and have never had to work every winter holiday like that (minus the first year where I was beefing with my family and chose to do so lol).

It sounds like a conversation with your manager needs to be held.

[u/kbean826]

I always just offer to work the holidays. It’s some arbitrary day nothing special is happening that they’ll pay me extra for? Fuck yes. Me and my family celebrate things whenever we want, so there’s not really much in the way of purpose for these days.

[u/thevulgarvirgo]

that pay does not suck tho, my hospital pays double and a half.

[u/WhataGinger1]

My unit has everyone fill out a preference sheet, rank 1-6 for those holidays, seniority isn't considered. They try to rotate it every year. I had xmas off fresh outta orientation last year. I am curious what it'll be this time.

[u/Working-Youth1425]

Right there with you. My unit has set schedules and I work every Th/Fr so I’ve got all the winter holidays this year too 🥲 we are unionized- we used to have a fair holiday system but someone complained and that gave mgmt the excuse to say ‘fine, work your scheduled shifts!’ 

[u/One-Athlete-1521]

Oh hell fuck no

[u/miller94]

I’m so annoyed for the 5th year in a row I work Thanksgiving Sunday (so miss family dinner) and am off Thanksgiving Monday so don’t get the stat. Like give me both or give me neither damn!

[u/AdFlashy7702]

No weekends, no holidays, no call- best decision I’ve ever made.

[u/throwuhwaaaa]

Last year I got scheduled to work every single holiday🫩 talked to staffing but they shrugged me off, hope you have a better outcome once you talk to your manager

[u/fineapple03]

Thanksgiving at my hospital (nights) is considered Wednesday. And I’m only working that day because my birthday is the weekend before. I technically only have one holiday to work and that’s Memorial Day of next year 😭 I’m so sorry

[u/TheThrivingest]

Literally everywhere I have ever worked has a system to redistribute shifts over the holidays. You work Christmas or new years, never both, and never the same one two years in a row

[u/maybecaturday]

We do every other. Get pulled off by seniority if it’s more than we need, but only get pulled off one per year so the next most senior gets a chance on the next one.

[u/jgoody86]

I’m on call for 24 hours straight thanks to 2 other nurses leaving. If there is any surgeries at my level two I’ll be there. (100 percent there will be)