DispatcherDame's Diatribes

Burn Out is Real. Very Real.

3/14/2015

1 Comment

 
In this profession of mine that I've chosen, there is an accepted truth - burn out happens. It's just a matter of when, and if you let it get the best of you.

I don't speak for all dispatchers, but I think it's pretty safe to say that almost all of our centers are understaffed, and some pretty severely. This means that we are all working ridiculous hours on little to no sleep, and with the adrenaline peaks that we go through behind the console, it's not a pretty sight.

One of my academy-mates called a full pursuit in her sleep the other day, from failure to yield to code 4. It woke her son up. Even when she's not 10-8, she's working.

That's why vacations are a Godsend. Time away from the center, away from the scanner, away from the cattiness, and supervisors.

That is, if they don't revoke your vacation last minute "due to staffing needs of the center." Or cut your vacation in half. All things that have happened recently at my center.

A co-worker goes on vacation in two days. We were talking, and she said something that is very true. She stated that she didn't feel burnt out until she got super close to her vacation. Now it's like senioritis - she is annoyed by everything and everyone, and can't wait to get out of here for a bit. She normally is a very pleasant person, with hardly anything negative to say, and burn out has turned her into someone she doesn't even recognize.

Everyone has to find an outlet, otherwise we'd all go crazy. Many people have hobbies or spend time with their families, which is all well and good, except that this job sucks up so much time and energy that there isn't any left of either to devote to hobbies and families. The tough part is forcing yourself to do these things to help in the long run.

If you don't, then burn out gets the best of you, and you quit or make a costly mistake that means you can no longer do your job.


Or, you know, our agencies could hire enough people so we don't have to be overworked...
1 Comment
Sean link
5/17/2016 09:41:32 pm

I completely understand what you mean by burn out. I used to work in a call center selling Princess cruises. I feel like I got adequate training to be able to answer the calls and so on. I spent 6 years just in the call center and during the busy "wave" season I would work 12 hours 6 days a week for 3 straight months. Taking over 150 calls in that time frame is eh, and can be stressful since people booking their long awaited dream vacations can just be "jerks".

Thankfully, I saved up so much vacation time that I began taking every Friday off for 3 months straight. I found that working a 4 day work week is much nicer than a 5 day one. Now I am on a 9/80 sked.

I finally moved out of the call center into the IT department and I am more burned out now from doing the same mundane work. Can't wait to get out and hope I have a cool dispatcher as I am sure you are.

SK

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    A twenty-something dispatcher taking 911 calls, yapping on the radio, and dealing with the general public - with a mad case of headset hair. Not quite so jaded yet, but not naive as I once was. Losing my soul one call at a time.

    This reflects my views and not the view of my employer, etc.  If you have a problem with this, I suggest using the back button.

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