Weathering the Storm: 4 Ways to Roll with the Punches and Bring Your Best, Every Day
Guest blog written by
Adam Timm, Head of Change Management | RapidDeploy
9-1-1 is a tough job. It’s even more challenging during a pandemic. In time, the daily hassles can take a toll, pushing the most dedicated telecommunicators out of a job they love. Armed with a few simple tools and reminders, however, 9-1-1 professionals can more easily weather the bumps in the road, leave work at work, and find time for the things that matter most.
It’s simple, but not easy, and it takes practice. It’s all about resilience: how to bounce back after being knocked down. Several studies point to the power of resilience in 9-1-1, with the most resilient dispatchers calling in sick less, feeling better about their contributions to the world, and thriving throughout their dispatch careers.
Where resilience was once thought to favor a select few, recent research (and personal experience) shows that we all can boost their level of resilience using simple tools and techniques. One telecommunicator, Donna, after 20 years in 9-1-1, began using a daily practice of listening to upbeat music, connecting with her breath, writing in a journal, and engaging in low-intensity exercise. Within two weeks of doing these things each morning before work, Donna found her compassion fatigue lessened, her feelings of burnout subsided, and she rekindled the familiar feeling of making a difference when speaking with callers.
This is no small feat. Many 9-1-1 telecommunicators leave the profession on the heels of losing “the spark” the job once offered. Using tools for resilience could be key to prolonging the careers of those who would prefer to stay in the profession rather than leave for less impactful work.
Tools for boosting resilience function in two different personal dimensions: emotional and physical. Emotional resilience relates to how one feels during and after stressful challenges, whether a single traumatic call or the effects of the daily grind. Physical resilience relates to how effectively your body recovers from these events.
Emotional Resilience
With a high level of emotional resilience, the feelings in the moment may still be there, but the dips aren’t as crazy, and it takes less time to recover. Using the following strategies powerful, you can boost your emotional resilience today:
1. Focused breathing. Dr. Herbert Benson was the first to quantify the power of the breath in his classic text, “The Relaxation Response,” in 1973. Dr. Benson found that, simply by focusing intently on your in-breath and out-breath, then doing this for 5 minutes with your eye closed, you can increase your feelings of well-being. Another study found this breathing practice prevents “mind-wandering,” or the incessant stream of thoughts that cause impatience and fatigue. Set aside just a few minutes today to sit still. Set a timer. Shut the door to the room. Check out and tune in to your breathing. Commit to 10 days for better results.
2. Letting go of things. When we take things personally, we brood over the perceived slight and dwell on how unjust things are. There is nothing wrong with wanting fairness and justice, but the problem with regular feelings of indignation about minor things is that, in time, they never really go away. There is always something to be angry about or get riled-up over. The refreshing reality is that things are never personal. If we practice letting go, the stress of feeling wronged passes much more quickly. The next time you notice yourself get stressed about something that happened to someone else (or you), just pause, notice the feelings, take a deep breath, and move on.
Physical Resilience
Emotional resilience is about the mind, whereas physical resilience is about the body. Stress is a physiological experience. There are simple and specific things we can do to decrease the impact of stress on the body and boost levels of physical resilience.
1. 10 minutes of brisk walking two times a day. Getting up and moving not only helps the body process stress hormones more efficiently (while deactivating the stress response), but it also oxygenates the blood and gets energy flowing through achy and stiff muscles. The body is designed to move, and the sedentary nature of the job can leave us putting on pounds quickly. One study found that those who exercised in this way for 21 days tested at an aerobic fitness level 10-15 years younger than those who did not.
2. Have some fun. This may seem like mental exercise but getting into a state of joy and play is a physical experience. When was the last time you really allowed yourself to have a great time? If it has been a while and you have young kids, watch how they play. Completely lost in the activity. Joy and stress cannot coexist. When you laugh and have fun, the stress response shuts down. Choose one fun thing you’d like to do, for you, this week. Put it on your calendar, prioritize it!
Take time this week, during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, to celebrate the impact you have. But don’t let it stop there. Only you know what you need most when it comes to your health and happiness.
As a special gift to our customers, we are making a special “Dispatcher Stress Resilience” training class available, for free, on RapidDeploy Academy. Just reach out to your Customer Success Manager and let them know you’d like your team members to have access! If you do not have a Customer Success Manager, please email our Customer Support team at support@rapiddeploy.com. Happy TC week!