NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Leaders at the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services plan to use the results of a survey of front-line employees to improve the workplace.
Vanderbilt University professor Michael Cull, who developed the survey, told The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/1iwHzfc) that it found caseworkers across the state consistently work overtime and don’t usually recognize how fatigue and stress affect their decisions.
Cull said there’s more risk associated with decisions that are made when workers try to “power through” stress and fatigue.
DCS Deputy Commissioner of Child Safety Scott Modell says he wants employees to be at their best when making critical decisions to protect children.
He says the agency will work on correcting problems by improving communications between employees and supervisors in addition to identifying things that work well.
