Did you know that teabags were an accidental invention? That’s right: they were never intended to be dipped into that piping hot cup of water you are holding in your hand. In fact, in 1908 American tea merchant Thomas Sullivan used silk bags to send samples of tea to his customers, who mistakenly thought the bags were meant to replace traditional metal infusers and dunked them into their teapots.
Did you also know that teabags have been given out to exhausted and overworked NHS healthcare workers to thank them for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and encourage them to take a break? The token gesture has received scathing criticism on social media and in news articles across the UK. The NHS trust that gave them out says that the gesture has been taken out of context and was just one part of a range of measures being used to thank healthcare workers for their hard work.
‘Nice trivia’, I hear you say. But what’s the point?
In the last few weeks, random trivia emails have been popping in to my inbox. These are being sent on a regular basis by the higher echelon, I presume in an attempt to raise morale and build a sense of community. Of course I could be wrong about the motive behind them, since no explanation for their sudden appearance has been communicated. With approximately 15 questions each email, they’ve obviously taken some time to compile. Then there’s even more time for someone to receive and read the responses and send out the results the following day.
I wish I could say they have been fun, a bit of light hearted activity to fill in during a tea or lunch break. Instead I am finding that with each new email I am feeling more and more resentful. If ever there has been a sign that management are reading the room wrong, this is it.
The emails arrive with a ‘ding’ and land in the depths of the inbox amongst what seems to be a never-ending mountain of referrals and requests to review patients. Rather than welcoming them, I am becoming more and more angry with each one. I can’t hit the delete key quickly enough. Who on earth has time for this?
Many healthcare workers around the world have received expressions of appreciation for their efforts during the pandemic and in an effort to boost morale. There have been claps for carers, music from balconies. badges of thanks, donations of meals, and signs in windows. A myriad of ways for the public, and employers, to show their appreciation. While all of these gestures and the teabags and trivia are well-meant, there are so many more practical ways to show healthcare workers that they are valued and appreciated.
What we want is respect. For managers to provide us with opportunities to raise concerns and give constructive feedback, and for them to act on it. We want enough staff and resources to meet the ever-increasing workloads. We’d like adherence to ratios, enough desks, working computers and phones. We want streamlined recruitment processes so that positions are not left vacant for two years. We need backfill into our positions when we are on leave so we can return refreshed to a manageable workload instead of having to exhaust ourselves trying to catch up. We’d also appreciate better pay, perhaps a retention bonus for slogging it out during a pandemic and still turning up every day. What about access to a free workplace gym and to a cafeteria or even just a mobile coffee van? I could go on and on, but I just don’t have the energy.
So there you have it. I’ve managed to link teabags to trivia, and had a rant.
Time for a cuppa.