Breaking the "US" vs. "THEM" mentality

The “us vs. them” mentality can manifest itself in a number of different ways. From the standpoint of the workers, “them” refers to management. From the standpoint of management, “them” refers to the workers. In either case, situations where “us vs. them” comparisons come into play often lead to overall decreased morale, increased regulation, and a degraded working relationship between management and the working staff.

In EMS, being the Director means that you often need to keep the best intentions of the organization in mind, as well as the needs of your staff, your service to the community, and your responsibility to any higher-ups within your organizational structure. Bridging the gaps and managing the many relationships of such a position can be a daunting task...especially when there’s animosity between your office and your working staff.

First and foremost, if your objective as a manager is to walk into an organization with the intent of undercutting your staff all for the sake of the almighty dollar, then perhaps management isn’t the right job for you. I say this because you will constantly face animosity with your workers, and you will likely never be seen as a leader within your organization. In fact, if you’re this kind of person, please contact me...we should talk.

While some of the times that an “us vs. them” environment exists purely because of the nature of the labor-management relationship, many others that bare more weight in the overall operations and effectiveness of your staff are derived from a build-up of seemingly petty items that are left unaddressed. The remaining others are often because of differing spectrum views where the vision of the management staff is vastly different than that of the labor force.

“They don’t care about us...we’re just a body on the roster.”

“All they want is money...they don’t realize I have a budget to stick to.”

In both of these instances, a lack of communications often leads to animosity, which then snowballs into a complete “us vs. them” mentality. From the workers’ perspective, a common sentiment is that management sees them just as bodies to fill the roster. This is often derived from a multitude of other factors, such as out-dated equipment or facilities, strict work policies, lack of down-time because of increased petty item tasks, extensive checklists and redundant systems, and an overall lack-of-appearance and comradery from the management staff.

From management’s perspective, money is the easy fallback and blaming-point for many communication and animosity errors. Feeling as though all the workers want is more pay can be an overwhelming sentiment. While of course they want more money, this is typically not the workers’ underlying reason for animosity...yet in management, it’s often hard for us to move past this concept.

As an EMS Director, being a manager simply isn’t enough to effectively run an organization. Yes, people will still go on calls and show up when they’re needed, but your organization’s overall recruitment & retention will eventually fail if you’re not able to recognize that managing a service isn’t enough...you need to be a leader as well (and arguably more of a leader than a manager). What this means is that breaking the “us vs. them” mentality often starts at, and roots back to, your office.

Snowball Effect

A lack of communications, poor follow-through, and a lack of positive appearance often perpetuate a snowball effect of lingering items that build-up the “us vs. them” mentality.

As the leader of your organization, this effect needs to stop at your office. In many instances, simply explaining why you’re implementing a policy, where you would like your service to be, and what you would like done can work as a positive step toward breaking this mentality and stopping this snowball effect short.

Appreciation

When your workers don’t feel a sense of appreciation, accomplishment, belonging, purpose, or comradery within your organization, it’s easy for them to cast blame...at you.

As many services work to expand their level of care capabilities, increase staffing levels because of growing demands, and become more flexible with their training requirements, it’s your job as the Director to integrate these changes into your organization. While some of these tasks cost a lot of money, others do not. In fact, some of these major changes will have less of a shock value and impact if your workers and service members feel a sense of investment and appreciation.

Take “ABC Ambulance Service” as an example. This service is in a growing region that has transitioned from an on-call/volunteer BLS system into a combination full-time & paid-on-call BLS/ALS system. When this service’s new facility was built, it was designed with the current staffing model and call volume in mind...not it’s future changes and expansion. As this service grew and integrated increased staffing numbers into its schedule, including full-time personnel, its building did not. What started out as a two-bedroom facility with a common classroom, kitchen, day room, and dining area, stayed as a two-bedroom facility with a common classroom, kitchen, day room, and dining area.

Understanding that building a new station was not financially feasible, management took advantage of purchasing a neighboring home with the intent of utilizing it as a crew quarters for its additional staff. This old, outdated, and inconvenient addition eventually received a small remodel in order to make it more palatable to its staff...which was successful for some.

The vast majority, however, have no interest in this structure and see it as exactly what it is: an inconvenience. They don’t want to be in a separate building than the ambulances, they don’t want to be split-up from the remaining staff, and they don’t want to be in an old and still outdated house. The want to be in the station...their “home.”

Now, as the manager, you have two primary options: ignore your staff and stick to your plans of keeping the second facility, or listen to your staff’s requests to make some minor internal modifications to your current station to better accommodate their stay there. Which would you choose?

Better yet, how do you think this related to the “us vs. them” mentality? On one side, the manager is sticking to his guns and promoting the house, while the staff is on the other extreme and avoiding it completely (and actually sleeping on recliners and couches in the primary station). Do you think the staff feels appreciated in this situation? Does the staff understand the financial restraints and complexities of facilities management related to this topic? Has there been any communication between the two to express their feelings, concerns, and expectations?

Which “side” would you choose on this debate?

Communications

Communications, or often a lack thereof, is a common underlying issue in many struggling organizations. Keeping secrets, not updating staff on upcoming changes, expecting off-duty members to automatically be up-to-speed as soon as they enter the station doors (or even worse, surprising them with a significant change once they hit the doors), and not clearly outlining your expectations are all ways that we, as Directors, can fail at our jobs.

Knee-jerk reactions to isolated incidents, flock-shooting mentalities when it comes to policy development, and instituting unrealistic expectations (that you don’t actually follow your self) are all ways that we can further break our bonds and worsen the “us vs. them” mentality. Looking at the last example, actually following the very rules that you impose can go a long way within your organization when it comes to leadership and respect. Getting on the ambulance to pull a shift here-and-there, covering for a back-up call when you’re short-staffed, or giving your crews a break when they’ve been busy all day by taking the next call for them are all ways of showing that you’re still a worker at heart, and that you are willing to follow the very rules that you implement.

Posting monthly updates, holding quarterly membership meetings, and sponsoring regular staff appreciation events are all ways of not only showing appreciation, but to also communicate with your crews as well. Creating a news flyer, having a centrally-located postings board, appropriately utilizing an intra-department email message, and rewarding your crews for a job well done for performing “X” task can all get your message across the masses in a positive means.

Up-to and Including

Open-ended and regular threats of discipline for menial/regular tasks will quickly wear-down your staff’s give-a-shit within your organization. Such threats will further divide any bonds that you might have had with them, and will certainly add fuel to the fire of the “us vs. them” mentality.

Instead of making these open-ended and continual threats, work harder to get to the root of the issue at hand. If complaining that your apparatus aren’t stocked and cleaned after calls is a big issue, don’t threaten discipline if they’re not operating at 100%. Instead, talk with the crews to understand why this isn’t being performed. Does it seem isolated to an individual person or crew? Do you have too much equipment to account for on your ambulance? Does your ambulance need to be re-organized to cut-down on its layout and duplication confusion? All of this can be figured out by taking a step back, communicating with your workers, and then taking an appropriately informed action afterwards.

Being the Director doesn’t mean that you have to be golf buddies with all of your staff members, or be invited to each of their Thanksgiving dinners. What it does mean, moreover, is that you have to take the first big step in your organization and be more critical of your self than your staff. You need to take ownership for its shortfalls and work with your staff to correct them...not blame and chastise them for all of their inconsistencies.

You need to be the leader of the organization, not the reason for its descent. You need to break its “us vs. them” mentality and focus on its “us and them” vision.