I usually do not comment on the open forms too often or on the blogs but this one certainly peaked my interests. And I like to play Devils advocate...So?
One of the other blogs had this topic about a dispatcher coming into work and complaining because her computer at her desk wasn't working correctly. And the she watched the complaining go on for 45 minutes before she went out to the desk and actually fixed the issue. Now other co-workers had joined in this "complaining" as well as the original dispatcher.
So the APCO member asked the question why wouldn't she just ask someone to get it fixed? (basically I am summarizing here of course) So I thought I would start my own blog pertaining to this issue, because I want people to think about what I am about to say:
This is called venting....
That's correct its venting...Something from time to time, this is how Dispatchers/Call Takers express their frustrations, their ability to cope with callers, issues, and calls and maybe even how to deal with stuff that is weighing on their shoulders from home....
At this point this is where the statement comes in "You need to leave your personal problems at the door." I have heard this for the last 20 years and it is horse hockey! We are humans! We are not Cyborgs, we are not recording machines...even though sometimes we might sound like it on the phone...lol....This is how Humans deal with crap!
You have to understand that I am not saying that her actions are right or wrong. (I tend to lean that her actions were absolutely wrong in this case as you have described the situation, but what exactly was her point of view? Why was she acting this way? Why did other co-workers jump in so quickly and seem to agree with her?) Was there a way to correct the issues, without being blown up into a 45 minute conversation? Of course there was. Is there a way to maybe better express frustrations? Of course there is. However maybe I can explain why this actually happened:
What I am saying, is you have to understand....that as a dispatcher...when I walk into work...to my console/position...This is my world for the next 12 hours....My little desk is connected to all those civilians calling for help or guidance or just someone to hear them complain...Its connected to all those fire engines, ladder trucks, and chief officers that want stuff and wanted it yesterday....it's connected to all those police officers, detectives, swat, special ops teams, that wants stuff done yesterday...warrant checks, license plate checks....its connected to all those ambulances transporting the sick, and wounded, some may not live till tomorrow...and those ambulance crews want ALS intervention or to talk to the hospital....want stuff done yesterday.... That is 12 hours of dealing with people I don't know...problems, complaints, frustrations, fights, illnesses, destruction of their possessions, the death of a loved one, their house destroyed by fire, being robbed, stabbed, shot, being involved in a bad car accident hanging on by a thread and being flown to a Trauma Center, hoping to save a loved ones life.....All in 12 hours.....My little desk...is connected to such a big world.....
And when it's not operating at 100% As I am expected to operate at 100% all 12 hours...720 minutes....I cannot make a mistake at all, that I am there.....it throws that world into chaos. We are conductors....coordinators....the voice of wisdom of "controlled chaos" We manage the problem until a solution
And if I make one little mistake it could cost a life, or hurt someone, or injure someone even more or if I send someone to the wrong address or wrong response area....or depending on how bad the mistake is I could lose my job.....and all of this responsibility for $35,000.00 a year?????
So yea...when my little desk area...that is my world for the next 12 hours isn't working right....I think I have the right to vent.....And that is the disconnect between management and workers on the floor.+
Now of course that doesn't mean everyone is bad..that management is bad...I am not saying that at all. All I am saying is that sometimes.....sometimes, you just have to let your workers vent.....that's all. (Of course in this particular situation....her venting probably should have lasted about 5-10 minutes and then once the computer was fixed that should have been the end of it.)
This kind of thing happens everyday....in Communications Centers all across the world...not just here in the United States.
And that is how we keep coming back day after day....year after year...with a career ending in 25-30+ years.....think it takes a toll? Yea just a little...
So after all that I have said. Please do not think that I am young or do not have time on the job. Been doing this for 16 years as a Dispatcher, 14 years at my current job, and 23 years total in Fire/EMS. In other words...I am not a Millennial. (I say that because I have been told that this would be the viewpoint of a Millennial...some would say.)
And for $35,000-$45,000 a year......shoot I could make more money being a plumber....at least if I was a plumber I could get paid a lot more money to put up with other peoples crap....lol. (That joke usually makes people chuckle)
People are people and we have to figure out how to learn from them...teach them...guide them...and understand where they are coming from....not all the time....but sometimes.
Steve D.