When’s the last time you assessed the well-being of your agency? With the highest demands ever being put on your front-line staff, combined with the least amount of resources, officer burnout is at an all-time high. Officers are exhausted and accumulating stress exposures at an alarming rate, leaving agencies with wasted time, money, and emotions. In fact, in a 2020 Police1 survey assessing the current stress and mental health functioning of officers, 73% of the group with 5-10 years of service reported that recent work events negatively impacted their productivity at least once per week. 54% of those officers screened positive for PTSD.
Without long-term solutions, the problem will continue to grow. Your agency trains for everything else, so why not train for the very things that can cause your best officers to ultimately leave?
Here are the top five signs it’s time to commit to a proactive stance on the well-being of your agency:
Lack of Rapport
One of the strongest indicators of the well-being of your front-line staff is how they connect in their down-time. Observe their interactions during pre-shift, meetings, or roll calls. Are your officers buried in their phones instead of discussing their weekends? This could be a sign that your crew is moving away from true meaningful connections. Instead, encourage casual communication that is personal or engaging enough for them to put down their phones and engage back.
Spur Engagement
Have you noticed a decline in the amount of officers putting in for training opportunities? Is there less interest in trying out for collateral duties or specialized units? Get your officers back on track by asking about their goals for the future in the agency and get them exposed to their specific interests.
Be THE Agency
Are your officers leaving for other agencies or law enforcement opportunities? One of the primary reasons officers leave agencies for other agencies that gets forgotten is that officers leave if they don’t like the culture at their current agency. This is a clue that the job itself they enjoy, but just not with you. Do a solid deep dive into the potential cultural issues at your agency and have the courage to reflect on what maybe you have done to contribute to a culture where they want to leave.
Find Your Why
Are the needs of your employees being met? A good way to determine this is by looking at your total utilization of sick days. For good measure, you may want to go back to 2019 to really get an accurate estimate. If this is the case, officers may be feeling as if their priorities or values aren’t being met by the job. With low return on their investment (not getting their “why” reinforced), they are more likely to take extra sick days if they are particularly burnt out. Help your employees battle this feeling of lack of purpose by encouraging them to identify or adapt their “Why”.
Change Isn’t a Four-Letter Word
When a supervisor hands down a new change, what’s the reaction amongst staff? Does it result in severe over-reactions and emotional outbursts that seem disproportionate to the situation? This kind of reaction is usually an indicator of a lack of bandwidth for mental flexibility that is required when changes happen. Instead, try rewarding good adaptations to change. You can acknowledge the frustrating parts of change, but then by rewarding and acknowledging a positive attitude to change, it will make your crew more resilient in the long-run.
Education is Key
If any of these signs have become apparent in your law-enforcement agency, it’s time to focus on well-being and anti-fragility education for your front-line staff. At Tactical Longevity, we believe that while resilience is bouncing back, anti-fragility is about moving ahead. Help your team move forward in a more positive direction that will ultimately lead to higher retention rates and officer engagement, increased performance results, and improved morale. By providing the tools and skills your team needs, not just giving education and awareness, you’ll be fostering a sense of purpose, belonging, and an investment in their roles that will help them reach their full potential. Showcase your commitment to officer development and well-being, and you’ll attract and retain officers who take pride in their work and can overcome any obstacles that stand in their way.
For more information about how Tactical Longevity can impact your agency, schedule a call today.
