obligatory I'm a German nurse living in Germany, but the German channels on lemmy don't have as many members as this one, so I ask here.
When I work I like to do my job and then relax. To me, doing it the other way round is just stupid. I was never the kind of person that goes to work to socialize, I don't need it and I strongly resent forced socialization.
For the last 2 years I've worked within the same hospital system and it's clear to me now, nobody thinks like me: all my coworkers spend the first hour of the shift talking about their private lives, as they were looking for excuses not to work and expect anyone else to take care of patients. And because I'm the only one with this job mentality, it's always me the one who works while the rest do nothing.
This is very frustrating and I'm now applying elsewhere, but it bothers me that my new workplace can turn out to be like this.
I'm also applying for office positions (no shifts) and wonder: does this happen there as well? Ideally I'd be completely responsible for my work alone.
I feel like a student at school again, when the teacher forced me to work in a group with the lazier ones and I ended up either doing most of the job or became as lazy as them. Why work when they don't?
I don't want to work with people who slow me down.
Well, I don't know if this will help or not, but maybe a viewpoint from the other side would help.
Now, back when I was young, I was more like you, just eager to get in there and go. So I definitely get your perspective.
For many people, a job is something they have to do, and it is often on a schedule they would never choose.
Shifting from "real life" thinking and action to "I'm working" thinking and action can take more than just walking in the door, particularly if the shift hours don't match your internal clock (which is why I have been on both ends of your situation). Having time to shift gears into work thinking may be necessary for some people, and not a sign of laziness.
The early time of a shift is the only time it's realistic to do that.
Now, if they're leaving the work for others, that's just rude, and a violation of professional ethics since the patient always comes first. You can't putz around when patients need care. An hour is a very long time for that mental change as well, I would expect no more than enough time to drink a cup of coffee/tea/whatever.
There was one place I worked that factored it in. You start shift, then report for a sit down chart review, but were allowed to chat and socialize during that. Fifteen minutes, then you go to your area and handle the exchange of shift with the people on shift already. That usually takes about ten minutes with a realistic patient load.
Then, you go and do your patient checks or whatever other duties were in order for the shift you were on.
This was as a nurse's assistant in my case, but the nurses and other patient care staff did the same thing.
But it is also easy enough to see why people in general would end up taking longer without someone pushing them along via policy.
In your situation, there really isn't much you can do. You either do what you're already doing and hope it doesn't grind you down, or you follow the group and use the time to prepare for your shift and thereby make it so they have to step up when it's apparent you aren't going to cover for them. There's obviously differences in U.S. vs German nursing, but I would be very surprised if there wasn't paperwork or other things you could do while they socialize that would force them to do their part.
If there isn't paperwork, or charts, there's gotta be something like organizing and checking medications, stocking any carts with supplies, etc. That lets you do work that benefits you, while staying busy enough that everyone else will have to do their job because you're Andy already doing something. Before I ran out of steam from the mismatch I have with the predominant shift times, I would very often be found prepping the supplies for my shift instead of wasting time, and that meant other caregivers would have to answer their own room calls and such.