We have seen high turnover for years in Long Term Care; not just DSP’s, but program managers, Coordinators, Administration… The work is hard and there are few benefits to sticking it out. DSP’s in particular have a very high rate of turnover. It’s not uncommon to hear of DSP’s leaving an agency to go work down the road at another organization for a dime more per hour. This is leads into this topic of this article: Giving proper notice.
In most lines of work, across all the various industries, people give 2 week notices. They do this in order to give the employer a chance to replace them. In human service organizations, there are often several openings for direct care staff to begin with. When another DSP leaves, it just compounds staffing issues even more. If an DS is scheduled to work many shifts but suddenly quits, it leaves ALL those shifts open and often unfilled. Who suffers? The clients fist and foremost. Then the DSP’s left behind to do the extra work. Management has to fill the position and do all the human resource things associated with this: Background checks, abuse registry check, hiring, orientation, mentor-ship if there is any, and on the job training.
I understand the reasons for wage shopping in jobs in this field. Money is tight and people need to make a living. Some people would laugh at a dime an hour increase in pay but when you’re living paycheck to paycheck every dime counts. Still, it is so important to leave on good terms. When an DSP or anyone else quits without a notice, they almost always end up on the “No-re-hire” list- which is important if one wants to get a decent reference. Trust me- a bad reference is not a good thing in this work. And very often, the Director of one human service provider agency is friends with many directors of many provider agencies- they usually have a network. They warn one another about staff who quit without notice as well as staff who are placed on LOA pending an abuse investigation.
Some other reasons for two week notices:
In the future at another agency, you might end up working with some of the program managers and DSP’s of the facility you left. One of those former program managers could be a Director of an agency you want to work at.
You may want to come back to this facility in the future. Now you think I’m truly crazy. You’d never want to work for this horrible organization again! Well, remember that whole turnover thing? 5 years down the road, the new management of the facility may very well increase pay rates and offer better benefits. You would love to go back now. But you can’t because there’s that “No Re-hire” comment attached to your SS number.
There are financial benefits to giving notice. If you have any vacation time accrued you may lose it if there is a policy about giving two week notices. Also, consider any health insurance facts as well. You will lose coverage.
As well there are some valid reasons to NOT give any notice:
An employee has been physically abusive.
A supervisor has sexually harassed you.
Your mental health is being seriously endangered by job stress.
You have not been paid the agreed-upon wage or wages have been withheld for an unreasonable length of time.
You have been asked to do something which is clearly unethical or illegal.
Personal or family circumstances are such that you need to leave the job.
A crisis has happened in your life, and there is no way you can continue on the job.
Remember it WILL be the residents who suffer the most when you leave. If you have relationships with them, cutting out without notice will be especially painful for them. It will feel like a death in their family. Only you can decide but it seems to me there are better reasons to give the 2 week notice than there are to just walk off the job.
