The pressure and the system
With TIM, we already get somewhere, and certainly in the care sector. We play for employees of OCMW's, residential care centers, home care organizations, hospitals and other care agencies. Often we hear the same song during the meetings prior to the performances: time pressure and too much administrative work. This time, I am sitting around the table with people from an PCSW training working group, and the theme of the training afternoon - and therefore our performance - will be tailored care methodology. "We want our employees to realize that, even in these times, they are doing good, that custom care is also in little things!" That should be the message.
But again, I hear the same issues. The system! The system imposes procedures and rules. It calls into question the expertise of employees. Just might be taken advantage of. The overarching government's confidence in its executive staff seems very low. "Staff members no longer find pride or joy in work. They no longer feel drawn to their craft, their abilities, their experience, their intuition and their dignity." I read in The Knack.
Intrinsic motivation, nice. But at what cost?
And all those caring staff, intrinsically motivated as they are, just keep doing their best. Laying off work to protest is almost impossible. "Who cares for the people then?", they say. I ask them, "Where is the limit? How many 'files' can a person handle? At some point it has to be enough, right?" One employee replies, "Until you drop..."
One of the people at the table a few days before this get-together saw our performance 'Fed up, fucked up' , a performance about stress and burnout prevention. We played at the request of the city. "I thought it was really good hey, the performance. Really!", she says, "but then I get to work the next day and learn of a new decision that leaves me with even less time to finish some files. And then I think, 'Yeah ok, that's nice that our mayor is investing time and money to raise awareness about burnout, but how do I reconcile that with that decision?'"
I understand the frustration. I can only tell her that I hope our performances can plant a small seed, that they can cause more and more ripples. We play in the hope that more and more people, before they fall into burnout, dare to say, "And now enough is enough! This has to be completely different here!" We play in the hope that at some point the power of numbers can speak instead of the power of policy makers and managers.
Thematic improvisational theater should not be sweeteners
I wonder: how far does Inspina's responsibility extend? How far should it reach? Are we playing this performance simply because an employer is now required to do "something" around stress and burnout, or do we actually want a statement of commitment? Do our performances end up being classified as sweeteners for staff, or can they actually bring about a change in the system? I wonder: is it time for the Charter of Inspinazie?