VA Employees Don’t Feel Safe in Their Jobs
Most veterans that have walked into the Veterans Administration (VA) have felt there are people who work there don’t care. The reality is, most VA employees do care but are limited in what they can legally do. Henry was a student of mine that works at the VA. He is retired from the Navy after serving over 24 years and wanted to continue serving by helping his brothers and sisters after retirement. Over time we had several discussions about the VA and how they operated. There were times he felt the need to discuss an issue with his superiors but was scared to for fear of losing his job. Whether his fear was real or perceived he did not feel safe. Henry felt trapped and limited to what he could do for hid patients. He worried that if he tried to change things or spoke up he might lose his job, if he didn’t do anything his fellow veteran might suffer. This is tough position to be in. Before we start blaming the individuals who work at the VA hospitals or the hospitals themselves, we need to look at the system they are forced to work in.
We have all been appalled at the recent events at the VA. I have had the pleasure to know several employees at the Loma Linda VA. They are good people with a good heart. The problem is they don’t feel safe in their jobs and struggle to tell the truth about problems that exist. There are a lot of layers an employee must go through to reach someone that can make any changes, if changes can be changed at all. Many employees hesitate to “run something up the flag pole” for fear of being labeled a non-team player or trouble maker. This can make a VA employee’s life difficult at work if not cost them their job, so they do what their told and don’t make waves.
From an employee standpoint, they need to feel they can raise concern when warranted. The head of the VA hospital needs to let everyone know it’s safe and give credit to those who does what’s right and speaks up. Giving VA executives bonuses for doing their job seems inappropriate. It would be difficult for anyone to “not fudge the numbers” for the bonus, its human nature. Why doesn’t the VA pay executives a set wage and incorporate the bonuses into their pay? Why tempt someone to cheat? These are questions only congress can answer. Issues between veterans and congress go back to the 1780’s. What we are hearing now about the VA is nothing new, every decade has had its problems. Congress makes the rules the employees must adhere to. Congresses inability to delegate power to VA management is a major part of the problem.
Ex-secretary of defense Robert Gates discussed in his book “Duty” how entrenched the personnel employed by the VA are to their norm. He feels the people at the VA are generally good people but the system is broken. As Secretary Gates pointed out, congress hold allot of the blame when it comes to the VA system, it literally takes an act of congress to make any changes within the system, which basically means good luck. Since secretary Gate’s book has been released congress has attempted to make some changes.
The feeling of safety starts at the top. The President, Congress, The Secretary of Veterans affairs, and individual hospital administrators need to provide a feeling of safety for the employees when they raise an issue with the system. One of the major complaints from veterans is many employees at the VA are not veterans themselves. Veteran members of congress has dropped drastically from a peak of 80% in 1977 to 19% in 2013. The VA also employees a large quantity of civilians, fueling the debate. Money is not the problem, employees not feeling safe in their work environment is a huge part of the problem. Its time congress removes politics from the VA and put the right people in place to make the VA a safe place to receive care and work. Congress is the only ones that can make the drastic changes that the VA needs. Congress needs to give the power to make changes to the people who operate the VA and hold them accountable. It’s time to get the politics out of the VA.
For questions or comments, I can be reached at bo@afterdutyvets.com or visit our website at afterdutyvets.com.