I am a Housekeeping Supervisor at the Canandaigua, NY VAMC. I agree with much of the content of this video. The interaction can be a tricky balance; a supervisor can not become "friends" with subordinates unless they are all "friended" equally. Getting to know them well enough to show them you care and they are not "just a tool" is very important, but can't go too far. --- Rooting out the balance of the workload is extremely important as was noted. Imbalance will always breed discontent. --- One other important thing I do with my team to strengthen my accountability with them is do the same work they are assigned. When someone calls off, normally their duty is shared with other workers to get the job done, but that increases their workload for that shift. I will often cover a shift for call-offs, thereby not increasing anyone's workload and showing them I am willing to do the work too, not just delegate all the time. While this may very well reduce the amount of time I have for paperwork and administrative duty, the payoff is worth the effort.
