更重要的標準“我在這裡工作很自豪”。Working for Dignity, Santa Cruz County

更重要的標準“我在這裡工作很自豪” 這是Dr. Deming 強調的workmanship

台中某鄉鄉長只使用法定員額的8成還能很好地控制成本開源節流...




英國護士為何冷漠？英國《金融時報》專欄作家邁克爾•斯卡平克
位於英格蘭西米德蘭茲的斯塔福德醫院(Stafford Hospital)發生的醜聞引發了許多討論，這所醫院的患者受到虐待，死亡率偏高。相關言論的矛頭指向削減成本和管理條條框框，然而幾乎沒人能回答最讓人不安的問題：護士在入行時肯定是打算與人為善的，是什麼讓這家醫院的某些護士變得如此冷漠？由出庭律師、御用大律師羅伯特•弗朗西斯(Robert Francis QC)撰寫的詳盡報告，沒有為某些比較聳人聽聞的故事提供證據。雖然媒體不斷報導稱，患者淪落到了從花瓶裡喝水的地步，但是弗朗西斯在聽取了966個患者和家庭的證詞後，沒有找到直接證據支持這一說法。他發現的實際情況更加糟糕。來看看一起很有代表性的事件：一位婦女96歲的婆婆住進了這家醫院，當這位婦女來到這家醫院時，她發現她婆婆一絲不掛地躺在一間門戶大開的房間裡，身上到處沾著糞便。這位婦女錶示：“污穢遍及她的頭髮、眼睛、指甲、雙手，”這些污穢已被風乾，很明顯老人這樣已有好幾個小時。 “肯定有很多人從這裡經過，看到過她的情況。為什麼沒人理她？”這所醫院還常常出現缺乏人性溫暖和基本禮貌的行為。一位72歲的老人很高興地發現她又能扭動自己的腳趾頭了。她把這事告訴了清潔工，清潔工也很高興。之後她又把這事告訴了前來送藥的護士，這位護士卻一言不發就走了。患者家屬還告訴弗朗西斯種種情況：按報警器無人理睬；他們不得不自己為患者擦洗身體；患者們向護士投訴時，護士說：“別哼哼唧唧的……我今天還沒休息過呢。 ”弗朗西斯表示，在某些案例中，護士的行為可被稱為不折不扣的“虐待”。來訪者不僅被迫自己照看他們的親屬，還不得不為陌生人出頭。一位來訪者見到一位上了年紀的男士在為他的妻子哭泣，她找到一位護士，這位護士卻隨隨便便地打發了她，稱患者“瘋了”。這位來訪者就此爆發：“這位老人是一位丈夫，還是一位父親。”員工失去道德眼光的例子也存在於其它行業：將住房抵押貸款兜售給那些支付不起的人們；操縱倫敦銀行間同業拆借利率(Libor)；侵入一位被謀殺孩子的電話。人們指望護士的道德會好一些。到底出了什麼問題？弗朗西斯在強調一些護士提供優良護理的同時，正確地指出個別人的行徑無可開脫。不過對這一現像作出解釋並不是開脫，有些問題的答案在他的報告裡就能輕易找到。當員工輕視顧客（或患者）時，可以肯定他們的上司也是如此。這一結論對於航空公司或呼叫中心是正確的，對於醫院也同樣如此。斯塔福德醫院的管理者當然表示他們是關心患者的，不過他們真正關注的實際上是降低成本，為此他們減少了護理員工的人數。於是，護士們發現她們無法回應每位患者的報警。在處理一位患者的報警時，她們不得不忽視其他患者的報警。在高負荷的工作下，許多人請病假，使那些剩下的護士工作將更為繁重。弗朗西斯不相信護理人數的削減是必要的。本來可以藉助更有效的管理來削減成本。不過這就意味著要聽取一線員工的意見。醫院的管理人員訪問過一家美國醫院後決定合併病房，為此護士們抗議說，將肛腸科患者與血管病患者的病房合併是不合適的。肛腸科手術頗為骯髒，而血管病患者有可能會截肢，就需要保持潔淨。然而，她們的意見被忽視了。一位曾提交事件報告的護士表示，她從來沒得到“任何回音，什麼都沒有……我的報告主要涉及人員配備水平；就是不能提供基本護理，抽不出空為患者餵食等等。”在這一切發生時，醫生們在哪裡？多數醫生不聞不問，不過有的醫生理解護士的處境。一位醫生表示：“我從來沒遇到上崗時不想把工作做好的護士。然而如果在這種環境下工作的時間太長，你……要么變得對痛苦的聲音充耳不聞，要么就轉身走開。”導致護士迴避患者及其家屬的可能並不是麻木不仁。一位護士就曾表示，她對自己不到位的服務感到羞恥。那些失敗的機構的管理者們常常提到改變機構的文化。那麼他們應該如何衡量成功呢？比起任何目標或者任何財務結果，更重要的標準應該是員工們何時會說：“我在這裡工作很自豪”。譯者/簡易



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University of California


Labor Day honors the contributions workers have made and continue to make to society. To assess their working conditions, a UC Santa Cruz research project surveyed the experiences of low-wage workers in Santa Cruz County. More than 100 undergraduate students participated in the research.







Working for Dignity

Work has long been a key source of human dignity, a central way we realize self-worth and respect. So is there still dignity in work? This site explores this central questions through the answers, images and stories of workers themselves.
WORKINGFORDIGNITY.UCSC.EDU








“Work is about a search for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying.”
— Studs Terkel, Working



What Is This Project About?



What Rights Are Being Violated?


Wage Theft & Pay Issues


Retaliation


Discrimination & Harassment


Health & Safety
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Working For Dignity


Vista en Español


Work has long been a key source of human dignity, a central way we realize self-worth and respect. But in recent decades we have witnessed a transformation of both our economy and the nature of work. And despite the ebbing of the Great Recession, new patterns of inequality have emerged. In California, while a minority of workers have found lucrative employment in high-tech industries, a growing number are funneled into low-wage and precarious jobs in the service sector. These jobs all too often leave workers struggling in poverty, exhausted or hurt, harassed and demeaned, and with few ways out or up. So is there still dignity in work? This site explores this central questions through the answers, images and stories of workers themselves. It also provides workers, students, teachers and community members the resources to learn more about low wage work in Santa Cruz County, who you can contact if you face problems are work, and what we all can do to make work more just.


Learn More About Low Wage Work








Wage Theft & Pay Issues




Every day, employers steal from employees. They withold pay stubbs. They charge fees for pay cards. They make workers skip their legally required breaks. They refuse to pay overtime. This is wage theft and it's more prevalent than you might think. See how the respondants of our survey experience this violation.

Learn More

Discrimination & Harassment


Low wage means a large labor pool. A large labor pool means workers are replaceable. That replacability makes some employers feel like there's little risk in exercising their prejudice against certain people or acting piggishly toward their employees. How many of our respondants faced discrimination and harassment? How many of you have?

Learn More




Health & Safety


Dangerous work doesn't always come with hazard pay. Accidents happen. Sometimes they can't be avoided but sometimes they happen because of unsafe or unhealthy working environments. Low wage workers often can't afford to take time off to nurse a cold let alone an injury. How healthy and safe were our survey respondants?

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Retaliation


It takes courage to speak out against unfair working conditions. That courage is often punished. Low wage workers experience retaliation by their employers when they ask for safer working conditions. For the wages they were promised. For the respect they deserve in the work place. Those who speak out are rare but they are punished at an alarming rate. What are they suffering for?

Learn More

Digital Stories

Voices of Low Wage Work


The purpose of this project has always been to tell the stories of everyday working people. We wish to understand the struggle created by living from paycheck to paycheck. The stories on this site are the words of a small number of the 1300 individuals that Working For Dignity surveyed. They did so at a cost of their own precious free time and we are extremely grateful to them. In all cases, names have been changed, and student voice actors have re-recorded the original audio verbatim. This was done to protect their identities, as the threat of retaliation from their employers is very real. Please visit the Digital Stories Archive, or view individual stories in the "Violations" pages.




Visit Digital Stories Archive >




Photos of The Struggle


The Working For Dignity photo team has been out in the field documenting the daily lives and activities of low wage workers all around Santa Cruz County. Come and see the faces and lives of our community! Visit Working for Dignity Photo Galleries