Eat That Cookie! Make Workplace Positivity Pay Off[horizontal ellipsis] for Individuals, Teams, and Organizations
Liz Jazwiec, RN (2009). Fire Starter Publishing, 100 pp. ISBN: 978-0-9840794-4-5.
This book, Eat That Cookie! Make Workplace Positivity Pay Off[horizontal ellipsis] for Individuals, Teams and Organizations, is written by Liz Jazwiec, an author who has committed herself to improving workplace culture. She discusses how positive health care workplaces translate to better patient outcomes, improved efficiencies, and lower employee turnover. Liz Jazwiec is a nationally renowned speaker, strategist, and a consultant who has shared her experience and excitement for leadership, engagement, and service with a variety of diverse audiences.
This self-help book challenges the health care employee to eradicate negativity in the workplace environment by offering insight as to how to recognize it and address it, as well as strategies to handle its constant resurgence. Liz has a very direct way of addressing workplace challenges while at the same time applying humor. Furthermore, Liz assists the nurse to recognize that his/her work extends far beyond achieving clinical expertise. This book is from the heart of the author. There are no references cited in the book, nor are they needed.
The book is arranged in 13 chapters that creatively present tips and strategies the health care employee can apply to a variety of clinical scenarios. For example, chapter 1 provides a formula for positivity; chapter 2 presents the "deadly sin" of destructive victim-thinking; chapter 3 encourages an accountable workplace; chapter 4 posits that we as health care workers may be paralyzed by the 2 P's of prevent process and perfection; chapter 5 suggests recognizing shutouts in the workplace; chapter 6 provides lessons in workplace gratitude; chapter 7 supports a judge-not environment; chapter 8 advises employees to eliminate Debbie Downers; chapter 9 proposes lessons in the F-word and suggests strategies as to how to make the workplace mandatorily FUN; chapter 10 advocates for workplace celebrations; chapter 11 encourages taking control of one's career destiny; chapter 12 fosters commitment to workplace kindness; and chapter 13, appropriately entitled "Pursuit of Happiness," suggests that choosing to be happy can create a positive workplace.
I would like to recommend that every nurse manager and nurse leader receive a copy of this book as part of his/her orientation to the manager/unit coordinator position as it would transform his/her personal perspectives as well as his/her team and organization at large. Nurse leaders, as Liz proposes, must make their team feel heroic and restore pride in health care. Liz indicates that, when people feel heroic, they can accomplish great things. In addition, I believe that this book would help every nurse educator gain a healthy perspective of what it is that we are trying to do with our very new nursing students. Staff nurses who pick this book up will undoubtedly feel very good about the vocation they choose and the work they do on a daily basis.
This book is a fun, easy read. Insights gleaned from this book can then be immediately applied to practice as a way to transform manager perspectives and beliefs, change organizational culture, and enhance patient outcomes. So, I would like to recommend that every health care employee now go ahead and read this book.
EAT THAT COOKIE!
Lisa A. Ruth-Sahd, DEd, RN, CCRN, CEN
Associate Professor of Nursing
York College of Pennsylvania Extern Faculty Coordinator Lancaster General Health York, Pennsylvania
[email protected]
Dr Ruth-Sahd is a consultant with DCCN.