advice please...situation at work

[Doryfish12]

Hi.
I'm a nurse and recently had my yearly performance review- Got good feedback, thanked for my committment etc made plans for next year.
A comment I made was that I found the inconsistency of the leadership teams communication frustrating .
eg.emails sent stating a change in procedure only to be followed up a couple of days later that they wouldn't be changing it after all...
emails stating we HAVE to do something a certain way , but sometimes we might not be able to...
My line manager acknowledged this and said they are taking steps to be more consistant.
So, I thought all good, positive outcome.
I've now been asked to attend a meeting , the hour before my 12 hour night shift starts, with my line manager and our senior nurse "to discuss my comments"
I feel very anxious about this
I feel intimidated
If I have to attend, I'd rather do it on my day off rather than right before a shift

Any advice please....Should ask more about why I need to attend?
Do i take someone with me?

I have no respect for them to begin with and don't trust them either. I have evidence to support why.

Thankyou

it doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me it sounds as if you have given some feedback and they now want to show you that they are acting on it

I’d go in assuming that they genuinely want to address these issues and are interested in your perspective on them. But either way, the key here is preparation. Write a list of specific examples in advance, ideally with dates if you can, so that if you are anxious or feel under pressure in the meeting you can calmly give concrete examples, rather than just raising generic concerns.

I feel anxious as my line manager addressed my comments, with a satisfactory outcome, so why now do I need to meet with higher leadership team?

First I would clarify whether you are being paid for the extra hour.

I agree with others I would go armed with examples and explain how this affected your work.
I had something similar in NHS, a manager who was poor in her communication style which was causing people to either misinterpret emails or take offence! A couple of others had brought it up so senior manager met with everyone individually. I had printed out examples of email instructions and kept it very factual

If the meeting is to genuinely listen to you and learn how they can improve, you can use this an example of poor communication. You've not done anything wrong so shouldn't feel anxious about the meeting. But if they'd clarified the purpose beforehand, you would feel positive about it.

I would say I can’t attend until my shift starts. Take your union rep with you.

Take a friend and ask that is during a shift.

A senior nurse wouldn’t need to attend. I agree with OP that is quite unfair.

Go in and be honest and back up your comments with examples. It's good and useful feedback which they ought to take on board.

1. Typed and printed date stamped list of examples to give them
2. Union rep or friend with you so not 2 against 1
3. Meeting, whether informal or not, minuted
4. Time to suit you and paid, if possible
5. Follow up email from yourself with 1. included to your line manager/senior nurse/those present

Thank you for meeting with me on (x) at (y) to discuss my recent appraisal feedback regarding internal communications and how consistency may improve outcomes on our ward.
The examples I gave you, which included (add list) highlight that occasional mixed messaging/quick u-turns can impact the team and that certain requests are not always feasible.
I appreciate you meeting to address these concerns as it shows that we all want the same thing, namely, the best outcomes for our patients and the best reputation for our ward.

Thank you for having taken time to discuss these issues
Kind regards
(you)

I work in education not health - so take out whatever part of the above sucks - but increasingly, I am of the opinion that union reps are great witnesses and a paper trail is imperative, whether they like it or not!
Trust nae fecker.

I'm a union rep and am asked to accompany people to meetings quite often, most of the time it has been exactly this situation - a request from a senior member of staff and they are worried but once they get there, it is nothing they need worry about.

I sit there and take notes of both sides of the conversation so that my member can have one less thing to think about.

It could also be that the meeting goes in a different direction if you say you're taking your union rep in!

No, they said I can time off in lieu

Thank you all so much for your input. I know I haven't done anything wrong, and can evidence what I've witnessed easily.
Their style is that if anybody speaks up or questions anything they are "negative" and "could cause others to worry" so are made to shut up or put up. A lot of very experienced nurses have left due to this in the last 2 years.
Think i'll be next..

As some have mentioned. I would contact the union and Acas for advice. I am also a nurse. Treated unfairly on the wards.
Not sure why a senior nurse needs to be having a word with you.

Hope it went ok op.

Could you let us know if you are ok and what happened.

Also, very sorry that they are doing this to you, it’s just awful.

Hope you’re ok Op.

Gosh, i'm so sorry...the meeting is week after next! I'm on annual leave this week so It'll be my first shift back.
I'm feeling a bit less anxious now, I know I haven't done anything wrong.
I have no respect for them.
Thank you so much for your support. I will update, promise.

Enjoy your holiday & forget all about them (but do update if you can when you’re back!)

I would just say that the time doesn’t suit, bugger coming in early for a 12 hour nightshift, absolutely not.

Good luck op.

I was invited to a similar sounding meeting after I gave feedback about a particularly difficult period of time for our team. I was asked to give this feedback by the managers.

I wish I had taken a union rep with me. The 3 managers (I was only expecting 1 and the team leader) ripped everything I had said to shreds and did not wish to hear things from my perspective.

I no longer work with those people but I’m still in the same organisation and I will never give honest feedback to mangers when asked again. They really don’t want to hear it.

Make sure you do have the support of another person and take your time back in lieu asap. Good luck.

Sounds like someone is investigating the senior leadership team and they want to dig a bit deeper into what you said. I wouldn’t see it as a bad thing but be factual and focus on how it affects you day to day. I also wouldn’t be going in an hour earlier! If they want to talk to you they need to arrange cover - cheek!

I live for shit like this lol, It’s my life blood - particularly when I know I’m right and it sounds like you know you’re right. Just be honest but polite and you’ll be fine.

You can also explain that this summons to a meeting without an agenda has left you feeling anxious - poor communication.

Just the fact that you are so anxious and untrusting about this situation shows how toxic your work environment is.

Can you look for a new job? It sounds awful.