To think NHS workers aren’t ‘hero’s’ for working Christmas Day?!

[Reindeerlighthouse]

Just that. I have quite a few Nurses on my friend’s lists on social media and a few of them have posted today about how they’ve been working. Que loads of ‘omg, you’re an absolute angel’ ‘omg, you’re a true hero lovely’ type comments on all of their posts.

Am I being dim? They’ve been rostered on, they’re just doing their jobs on a day they’ve been rota’d onto, why are they ‘hero’s’ for that? It’s literally their job. I’m not saying their job doesn’t deserve credit because it absolutely does, but I’m sure if they’d have refused to work Christmas Day they’d have been facing disciplinary action?

My husband has worked the last 5 Christmas days (not medical related) no one has ever said he’s a hero for working it.

AIBU to think ti really doesn’t make them a hero? Just people doing their jobs on a day they’ve been told to do it?

No, they’re fucking heroes every day but especially at Christmas.

My husband has worked the last 5 Christmas days (not medical related) no one has ever said he’s a hero for working it

Your husband is a hero. I hope that helps

What a mean-spirited post. I worked in homeless shelters for years on Christmas, making people's lives better. While other people pleased themselves. Isn't that heroic? BTW I didn't see myself like that but if someone wants to tell their friends they appreciate it, let them.

Now I please myself and I'm certainly not heroic now!

I think people throw the term hero around very loosely these days! Everyone seems to be a hero 😆

what does your husband do?

yes they are hero’s. Sacrificing such an important time to do a meaningful much needed job with no thanks. Absolute hero’s.

You just got to search for the hero inside yourself OP

Not heroes but anyone working Christmas deserves a thought and appreciation, it is a bit crap.

I’m a nurse and have worked loads of Christmas’s, it is tough particularly if you are doing the long day or back to back nights.

The majority of NHS workers don't want to be seen as heroes. it's this bollocks that mean we have to see this as our vocation and not be seen as the highly trained professionals we are.

However I always have gratitude for those that work away from their families to provide care or services for those needing them at Christmas. That doesn't just include NHS but everyone who is working on a day most people wouldn't want to work on.

OP, time to get the gin out of the cupboard and chill a bit!

It's like saying anyone who's employed to do a hard job isn't worthy of some appreciation. I get that the term might be over used, but the folks who do demanding work instead of spending time during a national holiday doing anything they'd rather do, when a large portion of the population aren't doing that challenging work, are people I'm grateful for.

DS2 has been a nurse since 2018 and has had his first ever Christmas Day off. He doesn’t think he’s a hero for working, nor do I tbh. I don’t think DS1 is a hero when he’s been deployed, nor when DH has been deployed at Christmas, nor when my Dad was a firefighter and worked umpteen Christmas days but what I do know is that we’d be lost without them all so I’m extremely grateful to every single one of them.

We definitely aren't heroes for working it, it's what we signed up for...but having worked 7 out of 9 since I graduated it does get a tad depressing, especially the hospitals where they don't remove the rolling rota pattern and you work 13h days from 23rd-27th

People that work in the NHS do a difficult job at times in difficult circumstances but they are people with the same frailties a nd failings as the rest of us. I detest the media mantra of angels and heroes when it suits.

This is about your husband and him perhaps not getting recognition? Not about our NHS workers.

I don't think they're heroes, unless they do something particularly heroic.
I do however think that they deserve recognition for what they do every day, and Christmas Day is as good a day as any, and while people are spending time with their families, and to acknowledge those who aren't because their skill set is needed no matter what day it is, it's a nice time to show some gratitude on those we rely on in society.
I do think that it's a bit mean to have an issue with this, there's loads of people that need to work in order to keep everything going or so that other people can celebrate - why is it wrong to acknowledge that?

My DH worked today in the NHS and saved someone's life. That meets the criteria of hero last time I checked.

They're just being nice and acknowledging that working Christmas day is a bit shit. We have 2 young DC. He worked 8-6 so missed pretty much all of it. Yes it's his job, yes we're aware that's what he signed up for and no he doesn't moan about it. But it's still shit and it's nice for people to acknowledge that

Chill a bit and remove the apostrophe

I agree with you they are doing a job they signed up to do . I have friends that work in the nhs they just accept it . It’s rubbish but goes with the job.

Absolutely not. It’s just to illustrate that lots of people work Christmas Day, because they HAVE to, because they’ve been told to. Unless they’re volunteering to do it, I don’t think it warrants people falling over themselves to tell them what a hero they are.

Come on OP. Don’t be a dick.

Also please stop writing hero’s when you mean heroes. And the word is cue not que (unless you’re Manuel from ‘Fawlty Towers’). See, I can be a dick too.

I absolutely appreciate what NHS workers do and agree they should be appreciated, I just don’t think working on Christmas Day warrants the ‘omg you are soooooo amazing’ posts. I also suspect a lot of people that post about it on social media are doing so for the ‘you’re so amazing to work Christmas Day’ type praise.

I wouldn’t describe NHS workers as heroes, with or without random apostrophe’s.

I would describe them as trained professionals doing vitally important jobs as best they can within the constraints of a dysfunctional, failing system.

As for working on Christmas Day, that’s part of the deal they knowingly sign up for, as do police officers, firefighters, veterinary surgeons and others who choose to enter essential 24/7/365 careers.

It's not extra heroic to provide life saving medical care, catch a murderer or run into a burning building on Christmas day Vs the rest of the year, so I agree that working on Xmas day doesn't make someone a hero.

Unless you want to call the poor buggers making minimum wage getting sworn at in convenience shops on Xmas day heros as well.

I think this is what I was trying to articulate (badly)