Lies: A Journal of Materialist Feminism - Libcom

So we took our mandatory breaks. Too busy? Well, perhaps the
charge nurses who sat in their offices all day could take over on the
floor for fifteen minutes? We appeared insolent and uncaring, but we
had no choice.
~
Behind the scenes, a lot held us back. Every day after lunch ended,
we asked ourselves as we pushed the residents in their wheelchairs
out of the dining room, “Can I squeeze in fifteen minutes of break
time and be done in time?” Call lights were going off, residents were
asking to be toileted, the daily required vital signs log was still incomplete.
The one automated machine lift that six CNAs would share
just happened to be sitting idly along the hallway. It would say to
each of us enticingly, “If you don’t take me now, I might be occupied
for the next hour and you won’t be able to transfer your residents in
time before the end of the shift.”
Our inner voices argued: “Do you really want the residents to wait
that long before getting toileted? What if it gets really busy and the
two CNAs can’t really cover the floor while you are away? What if
your residents transfer themselves to the bathroom without your
assistance and fall accidentally? Can you take the responsibility for
that?”
“But if I keep not taking my break and giving in to this chaos, then
the bosses think this is normal and acceptable for us. Give them an
inch, they take a foot. I can’t keep pushing myself. It will kill me.
Why should I sacrifice my own bodily well-being for this place? The
bosses don’t care anyway. It’s their fault, not mine!”
“Do you really want to risk clocking out late, or risk getting the nurse
and the afternoon shift CNAs pissed with you if you leave without
completing the tasks? How many times have you gotten written up
already? Are you prepared to stay late?”
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JOMO