Do you still love your job? Do you still look forward to what your day may bring you when you are getting ready to start your shift? Do you still feel the excitement as the phone rings or your dispatcher gives you a call for service? For you seasoned folks, do you even remember the feeling of putting on the uniform for the first time? You may have prepared everything the night before, pressing the creases just right, putting on and polishing your collar brass, packed your lunch/dinner the night before and making sure you had a clean notebook to take notes during your training.
Or are you dreading that alarm going off, hitting that snooze button just one more time? Do you have to talk yourself through getting ready to go to work every shift now? Are you even lucky to get the same colored shoes on before you go racing out the door to relieve your co-worker just before being late for duty? Does the sound of ringing phones, alert tones and sirens almost send you over the edge? Have you stopped smiling? Have you stopped loving your job?
Have you ever stopped to think about what made you stop loving your career? Was it politics, management, policy changes, staffing, co-workers or the public in general? Have you become so hardened that you have stopped caring about the people you serve? Or maybe you have even stopped caring about the folks that you work with. Has the job outgrown you? Has technology left you behind with your pencil and notepad feeling like an antiquated dinosaur while the new “kid” comes in, typing up calls for service all the while texting, facebooking and updating their twitter account seemingly at the same time? Have you become that grumpy, grouchy, old-timer that used to scare the daylights out of you every time you came to work “back in the day”? You know the one, the coffee drinking, cigarette smoking co-worker who has sat in the same chair and workstation since 1974, or the field unit that worked the road before there were cell phones, laptops, and GPS. The one you swore you would never turn into?
Don’t get me wrong, I have been in public safety for more years than I care to admit. Those trainees are starting to get younger and younger these days. The other day, I quoted something from Hee Haw and two-thirds of my shift mates looked at me like I was speaking in tongues. When did I become the oldest one of the shift? Although, I have noticed as a trainer that the younger generation coming into the comm center seem to be easier to train. Think about it, the technology doesn’t scare them. They have no problem jumping right in there and typing on the CAD or the rookie typing up that booking sheet in the new formats that are all computerized now and electronically sent into cyberspace. I also think that they don’t understand the reality of the calls they are answering sometimes. The liability alone is something that scares off the older generation. I had an older trainee tell me after two weeks that she got sick coming into work every day. The responsibility of managing all the field units and the potential of making a mistake that could injure or worse paralyzed her with fear. I sat her down and explained to her that this job is not for everyone and that I respected her more for telling me that she couldn’t handle it than to continue to struggle on in her training just for a paycheck.
We all have days that make us want to hang up our headsets or handcuffs. The problem occurs when the feeling never goes away. I have worked with some miserable people in my day and—let me tell you—sometimes, I just want to strangle them with my phone cord! I beg of you, if you have gotten to a place in your career, where you have lost that spark and energy that pushed you to apply in the first place, please, please, please look for another line of work. Public safety is something that cannot be done in a mediocre manner. My husband is a deputy; my friends and colleagues are deputies and officers and firefighters. How do you explain to someone that you were not doing your job to the fullest of your ability because you lacked motivation? The caller expects that you are on top of your game, your field units are counting on you to give them all the information possible and to keep track of them in case things go bad. If the crappy part of our job—such as the media, lack of manpower, lack of appreciation, lack of meritocratic pay—keeps you from doing the best that you can do, please consider that this is not the career for you.
I know that this is easier said than done for those who need an income to survive. But is your paycheck worth someone else’s life. Think of things that can get you to where you want to be. Maybe you want to stay in the public safety field. Does your department pay tuition reimbursement? Is there training at your department that you can take advantage of that might prepare you for a different position? Has your attitude kept you from transferring to another division? Think about ways to change that attitude. No one is going to hire or transfer what is considered a “problem” employee to another division. And don’t think managers and supervisors don’t share that kind of information. Does your department have a gym that you have access to? Run/walk off that bad attitude on your break or after shift. Be part of the solution to some of the problems you may see. Get involved without expecting anything in return. Volunteer to help out on small projects. If you have been at your department for a while, you have to have some good experience that you can share. Keep up on tends in the industry. There are tons of free publications on the Internet that can keep you up to date and interested on the latest and greatest things that are happening in our industry.
Remind yourself that a bad attitude and poor morale are highly contagious. Do you really want to be the one that is known for bringing your whole shift down? Think about why you started in the public safety field in the first place. Did you want to serve your community in a significant way? Did you want to help be a part of something bigger than yourself? Public safety people are, I believe, the best of the best. We can accomplish things that look absolutely impossible on paper. We run in when everyone else is running out.
I remember reading a newspaper article long ago stating something to the effect that only 2% of the nation’s population could do the job of 9-1-1 telecommunicators when I worked at a small but exceptionally busy police department. We often worked short, and basically did the best we could under the circumstances. One particularly challenging night my shift mate Lisa Lewis (Little Lisa as she is affectionately nicknamed due to her small stature) and I were running nonstop between the phones and radio and just when I thought we had reached our limit, I called out her name and said, “Hey Lisa!,” she glanced over at me with that “this better be important” look. “We are the top 2% sister!” She smiled and never stopped typing.
You are the cream of the crop, the best of the best. We do what others can’t. What we do is extremely important, monumental even. Not just to me and the rest of your public safety family, but to those you serve everyday. Try to remember why you are here and that you are the only one that can let you have a bad attitude.
Stay safe my family.
About the Author
Cindra Dunaway is a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Lee County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office. Contact her via e-mail at cdunaway@sheriffleefl.org.
Or are you dreading that alarm going off, hitting that snooze button just one more time? Do you have to talk yourself through getting ready to go to work every shift now? Are you even lucky to get the same colored shoes on before you go racing out the door to relieve your co-worker just before being late for duty? Does the sound of ringing phones, alert tones and sirens almost send you over the edge? Have you stopped smiling? Have you stopped loving your job?
Have you ever stopped to think about what made you stop loving your career? Was it politics, management, policy changes, staffing, co-workers or the public in general? Have you become so hardened that you have stopped caring about the people you serve? Or maybe you have even stopped caring about the folks that you work with. Has the job outgrown you? Has technology left you behind with your pencil and notepad feeling like an antiquated dinosaur while the new “kid” comes in, typing up calls for service all the while texting, facebooking and updating their twitter account seemingly at the same time? Have you become that grumpy, grouchy, old-timer that used to scare the daylights out of you every time you came to work “back in the day”? You know the one, the coffee drinking, cigarette smoking co-worker who has sat in the same chair and workstation since 1974, or the field unit that worked the road before there were cell phones, laptops, and GPS. The one you swore you would never turn into?
Don’t get me wrong, I have been in public safety for more years than I care to admit. Those trainees are starting to get younger and younger these days. The other day, I quoted something from Hee Haw and two-thirds of my shift mates looked at me like I was speaking in tongues. When did I become the oldest one of the shift? Although, I have noticed as a trainer that the younger generation coming into the comm center seem to be easier to train. Think about it, the technology doesn’t scare them. They have no problem jumping right in there and typing on the CAD or the rookie typing up that booking sheet in the new formats that are all computerized now and electronically sent into cyberspace. I also think that they don’t understand the reality of the calls they are answering sometimes. The liability alone is something that scares off the older generation. I had an older trainee tell me after two weeks that she got sick coming into work every day. The responsibility of managing all the field units and the potential of making a mistake that could injure or worse paralyzed her with fear. I sat her down and explained to her that this job is not for everyone and that I respected her more for telling me that she couldn’t handle it than to continue to struggle on in her training just for a paycheck.
We all have days that make us want to hang up our headsets or handcuffs. The problem occurs when the feeling never goes away. I have worked with some miserable people in my day and—let me tell you—sometimes, I just want to strangle them with my phone cord! I beg of you, if you have gotten to a place in your career, where you have lost that spark and energy that pushed you to apply in the first place, please, please, please look for another line of work. Public safety is something that cannot be done in a mediocre manner. My husband is a deputy; my friends and colleagues are deputies and officers and firefighters. How do you explain to someone that you were not doing your job to the fullest of your ability because you lacked motivation? The caller expects that you are on top of your game, your field units are counting on you to give them all the information possible and to keep track of them in case things go bad. If the crappy part of our job—such as the media, lack of manpower, lack of appreciation, lack of meritocratic pay—keeps you from doing the best that you can do, please consider that this is not the career for you.
I know that this is easier said than done for those who need an income to survive. But is your paycheck worth someone else’s life. Think of things that can get you to where you want to be. Maybe you want to stay in the public safety field. Does your department pay tuition reimbursement? Is there training at your department that you can take advantage of that might prepare you for a different position? Has your attitude kept you from transferring to another division? Think about ways to change that attitude. No one is going to hire or transfer what is considered a “problem” employee to another division. And don’t think managers and supervisors don’t share that kind of information. Does your department have a gym that you have access to? Run/walk off that bad attitude on your break or after shift. Be part of the solution to some of the problems you may see. Get involved without expecting anything in return. Volunteer to help out on small projects. If you have been at your department for a while, you have to have some good experience that you can share. Keep up on tends in the industry. There are tons of free publications on the Internet that can keep you up to date and interested on the latest and greatest things that are happening in our industry.
Remind yourself that a bad attitude and poor morale are highly contagious. Do you really want to be the one that is known for bringing your whole shift down? Think about why you started in the public safety field in the first place. Did you want to serve your community in a significant way? Did you want to help be a part of something bigger than yourself? Public safety people are, I believe, the best of the best. We can accomplish things that look absolutely impossible on paper. We run in when everyone else is running out.
I remember reading a newspaper article long ago stating something to the effect that only 2% of the nation’s population could do the job of 9-1-1 telecommunicators when I worked at a small but exceptionally busy police department. We often worked short, and basically did the best we could under the circumstances. One particularly challenging night my shift mate Lisa Lewis (Little Lisa as she is affectionately nicknamed due to her small stature) and I were running nonstop between the phones and radio and just when I thought we had reached our limit, I called out her name and said, “Hey Lisa!,” she glanced over at me with that “this better be important” look. “We are the top 2% sister!” She smiled and never stopped typing.
You are the cream of the crop, the best of the best. We do what others can’t. What we do is extremely important, monumental even. Not just to me and the rest of your public safety family, but to those you serve everyday. Try to remember why you are here and that you are the only one that can let you have a bad attitude.
Stay safe my family.
About the Author
Cindra Dunaway is a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Lee County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office. Contact her via e-mail at cdunaway@sheriffleefl.org.