By Lisa Rymshaw
It is no secret that the long shifts required of public safety telecommunicators can cause challenges for relationships, activities and self-care outside of work. In my recent survey1 of California telecommunicators, participants shared that the heart of the issue was that frequently their scheduled time off was not honored, which worsened multiple areas of work-life balance. For some of the telecommunicators, being contacted at home regarding work issues was the norm at their agency. Others said having time off revoked was an ongoing occurrence. In the words of one participant, “We work a lot of hours already, and to miss holidays that you are scheduled off for is frustrating.”
In fact, almost all participants revealed that they continually experienced requirements — not requests — to stay late and to participate in mandatory overtime. Additionally, in many organizations it was common for breaks to be shortened or canceled to meet staffing needs. As one telecommunicator put it, “It’s a huge sacrifice, and my pay rate does not compensate for that precious time lost.” Survey participants explained that having inadequate time off from the job affected their recuperation from its demands, which would have involved self-care, personal space and even the ability to do normal household chores. They also said that when agencies constantly take away their personal time off, the administration was demonstrating a lack of understanding and respect for the difficulty of the telecommunicators’ unique occupational role, as well as a lack of concern for the staff’s psychological well-being. “(We are) always being asked to do more with less, with regard to pay cuts, overtime and frequent staffing shortages. Dedicated staff give up much in order to provide these demands — and they come at a personal cost.”
For many of the telecommunicators, the policy of mandatory overtime also demonstrated that management did not care whether their employees’ private relationships were affected in unhealthy ways as a result of excessive time at work. One participant explained, “I work 60 to 66-hour weeks. EVERY WEEK. I miss my husband and kids…I cannot keep doing this job full time. My marriage and my family (are) suffering.” For many telecommunicators with young children, this perceived disregard for offduty life also caused childcare issues, such as the need to arrange a last-minute babysitter, which is especially tricky for overnight hours. Another participant shared that due to staff shortages, she had been strong-armed into taking a shortened maternity leave. This demand affected her ability to bond with her infant and pressured her to acquire childcare sooner than she had planned to.
These infringements upon their personal lives gave many telecommunicators the sense that they were not valued employees. However, participants voiced a variety of creative solutions that their agencies could implement that would show they were recognized and valued for their unique work, and that their psychological well-being and off-duty relationships were also important. While not every suggestion will work for every agency, perhaps there is at least one idea that would benefit your emergency communications center (ECC).
FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES
Rather than a standard 12-hour shift, agencies could consider hiring employees for staggered shifts in 8-, 10- and 12-hour increments. In this manner, shifts would be available for a variety of off-duty lifestyles. Even if a new employee could not receive their preferred shift when hired, at least they would know that eventually an alternative might open up or that they may be able to swap schedules with someone who is looking to make a change. The same would be true for employees who found themselves with new or unexpected life circumstances, such as a baby or the need to care for a parent.
ONE DAY OFF EACH WEEKEND
Constantly missing out on their loved ones’ special events wears on a person over time. While many agencies give the perk of weekends off to those with the most seniority, this practice often sets the stage for burnout, absenteeism and quitting among telecommunicators who are lower on the list and must work most, or all, weekend shifts. If the schedule is planned so that each employee is off at least one weekend day, it gives them the opportunity to participate in the world outside of dispatch — which works wonders for their personal relationships. As an added bonus, giving each telecommunicator one day of each weekend may decrease call-outs and quitting in the long run. It would also be easier for a telecommunicator to find someone to trade shifts with if neither employee is losing out on weekend time off — they are merely being asked to swap one weekend day off for another.
SPLIT-SHIFTS
Allowing two employees to share splitshifts may be a viable solution in agencies that require all staff to work both day shifts and night shifts — for example, two days on, two nights on. If one employee likes days and the other prefers nights, why not let them set up their schedules that way? Of course, this would necessitate that the two telecommunicators splitting the shift have been trained in the same areas. On the other hand, perhaps this would motivate administration to have more cross-trained telecommunicators within the organization. In the end, for some employees, split schedules potentially solve challenges such as childcare, family time and
time for preferred personal activities.
SHORTENED GRAVEYARD SHIFTS
Long shifts are tough. Staying awake during long night shifts can be even tougher, especially if a telecommunicator has not been able to sleep for a solid stretch of time during the day due to personal needs, interruptions from loved ones or simply not being able to block out the sun and fall asleep. For the same reasons, it is difficult to find coverage for night shifts. However, if night shifts were shorter, it would enable graveyard workers a longer period at home during which they could sleep. It might also make finding coverage
for night shifts a bit less difficult.
ONSITE ACCOMMODATIONS
Telecommunicators suggested changes to their facilities that might alleviate absenteeism and thus reduce staffing shortages. One of these was an exercise room. With the opportunity to complete their workout onsite, telecommunicators would have more hours of down time at home. In turn, this would be a plus for personal relationships and self-care. Having an onsite gym would also be a way to address the simultaneously sedentary and high-stress nature of the telecommunicators’ job, promoting physical and psychological health.
Adequate sleep is also essential to keep the immune system functioning properly. Many centers create dedicated sleep areas during seasons of extreme weather conditions. But it is less common to have these areas accessible year-round. However, a sleep area would be a helpful solution for telecommunicators who may have had a hard time sleeping prior to shift, and/or are having a hard time feeling fully alert for a long commute home after a shift. In occasional situations where the agency is short-staffed, a sleep area would also serve to give telecommunicators the rest they need to stay a bit longer for the sake of coverage.
Finally, the most frequently suggested onsite accommodation was childcare. With an onsite childcare facility, an employee who has been asked at the last minute to either stay later or cover a shift would not need to stress about who would take care of their children. It would also provide employees with the option of spending additional quality time with their children while on their break. In addition, onsite childcare would alleviate hiring challenges by opening up the job role to single parents who might be reluctant to enter the field, simply because they will have no one to care for their children
on such long shifts.
It is clear from the responses that telecommunicators provided in this survey that work-life balance must not be overlooked. The dilemma is that some of these suggestions require funding as well as training. However, stretching public safety telecommunicators beyond their physical and psychological limits through unprotected time off increases the likelihood of absenteeism or quitting, which only perpetuates the vicious cycle. It also causes burnout, which creates a safety risk for field responders and citizens alike. Modifications such as the ones suggested here could ultimately result in a higher rate of retention, positive interactions between telecommunicators and administration, and decreased need for forced staff coverage. More importantly, once telecommunicators have had adequate time to decompress, they will be in a far better state of mind to protect their health, their off-duty relationships, their field responders and their community.
Lisa Rymshaw, Psy.D., is a former Emergency Telecommunicator. In addition to researching and freelance writing, she also collaborates with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office to assist survivors of human trafficking and exploitation. She can be reached via
LinkedIn.
REFERENCE
1 “Occupational Identity Among Emergency Telecommunicators: Implications for Prevention and Intervention” by Lisa Rymshaw, delivered at the Society of Police and Criminal Psychology Online Conference, September 30-October 2. www.policepsychology. https://www.policepsychology.org/resources/Documents/SPCP%202021%20Program.pdf
