Dispatcher stress.

During the past decade, the law enforcement community and individual researchers have devoted considerable attention to the issue of police stress. Much of this research has focused on finding better ways to manage those specific factors that cause stress for law enforcement officers.

Today, as a direct result of this research, it is common to find police officers attending stress management seminars, lectures, and workshops as part of academy and inservice training programs. Unfortunately, this increased attention to police stress has failed to reach other components of the law enforcement community that also experience high stress levels.

This article focuses on the specific factors that may contribute to stress and burnout among an often-forgotten segment of the law enforcement population - police dispatchers. In particular, it examines the relationship between dispatcher stress and job satisfaction, social support, and control. The article then discusses the findings of a recent survey of civilian dispatchers in New Jersey. It also offers recommendations for agency administrators to enhance not only the conditions under which police dispatchers work but also the ability of dispatchers to serve their agencies and their communities.

THE DISPATCHER'S ROLE

Dispatchers perform a complex and stressful function. Unfortunately, the critical role they play often is misunderstood by administrators, officers, and citizens.

Dispatchers must be able to handle incoming calls, dispatch officers, transfer calls to appropriate agencies, coordinate multiple units for emergency calls, record computer requests by field units, and in some cases, process written reports. Frequently, they must provide immediate emergency care instructions to panicked, distressed, and highly emotional callers. They must perform all of these functions while remaining calm and reassuring. Additionally, dispatchers often play a vital role in ensuring the safety of others, not only callers but also officers on the street.

Those who most rely on dispatchers - hurried officers who demand immediate attention to their requests and citizens who expect instant resolutions to their problems - often fail to appreciate the diversity of roles performed by dispatchers. Likewise, supervisors and administrators often overlook the many different functions that dispatchers perform.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO STRESS AND BURNOUT

Many individuals in law enforcement regularly refer to the terms "stress" and "burnout" without possessing a clear understanding of their meanings. For the purposes of the research presented in this article, stress is defined as "the non-specific response of the body to any demand."(1) By contrast, burnout is defined as "the result of constant or repeated emotional pressure associated with an intense involvement with people over long periods of time."(2) It is the "painful realization that (individuals) no longer can help people in need; that they have nothing left in them to give."(3)

While many occupational settings are stressful, dispatchers experience specific stressors unique to their position. Past studies identified aspects of the dispatcher's job that contribute to stress and burnout.(4) They include: Being relegated to a low position within the departmental hierarchy; insufficient training; lack of support and positive reinforcement from officers, supervisors, and managers; shift work; lack of control; antiquated equipment; confinement and lack of interpersonal communication; lack of breaks; negative citizen contacts; lack of personal development; and insufficient pay.

Although many of these stressors have been cited in informal interviews, more formal studies that fully examine the relationship between dispatcher stress and independent stressors have been lacking. The New Jersey study marks the first formal effort to examine the relationship between stress and burnout among dispatchers, with particular attention devoted to job satisfaction, social support, and supervisory control.(5)

METHOD OF RESEARCH

For this study, researchers randomly selected civilian dispatchers from various police agencies throughout southern New Jersey. The research focused only on civilian dispatchers and thus excluded status issues pertaining to sworn officers who performed dispatcher duties. Further, the counties of southern New Jersey were selected because they included urban, suburban, and rural agencies, thereby permitting greater application of the survey results.

After securing approval from the heads of the selected agencies, researchers mailed survey forms to the departments' dispatchers. Of the 411 surveys distributed, 254 completed responses were received, for a return rate of 62 percent.

RESULTS OF THE STUDY

Job Satisfaction

The researchers predicted that police dispatchers who were dissatisfied with their job, lacked social support, and perceived little control over their working environment would experience the greatest amount of occupational stress and burnout. Job satisfaction was defined as the totality of the dispatchers' feelings about various aspects of their occupation. These aspects included the work itself, pay, promotional opportunities, coworker support, and supervisory support.(6)

Results indicated that perceived job satisfaction was a major factor in police dispatcher stress and occupational burnout. Specifically, those dispatchers who were dissatisfied with their current position experienced significant stress. Dispatchers who were dissatisfied with their current pay and lack of promotional opportunities also reported elevated levels of stress and burnout.

Additionally, dispatchers reported a high level of role conflict and a confused sense of loyalty in the workplace. In other words, as the dispatcher's role became more complex, the level of stress increased. While a lack of supervisory support was a major stressor, dispatchers who had the support of coworkers reported less psychological stress and burnout. Thus, those dispatchers who perceived that they were being treated as second-class citizens, lacked pay and promotional opportunities, experienced conflicting role demands, or lacked supervisory support reported higher levels of job stress and burnout.

The study defined social support as a network of communication offering guidance and feedback about individuals' behavior that validate their self-concept.(7) Results indicated that lack of social support plays a vital role in dispatcher stress. Those dispatchers who indicated the least amount of job stress and burnout possessed the following characteristics: Intimate contacts with close friends outside of the workplace; a sense of belonging to some type of social network; a close working relationship with colleagues; belief that family members could be counted on for assistance in an emergency; and belief that they could count on colleagues for advice, guidance, and expertise in certain areas. In other words, those dispatchers who perceived that they had a network of support - both within and outside the workplace - reported the least amount of job stress and burnout.

Locus of Control 

Locus of control refers to the level of control individuals exert over their environment. Specifically, internal locus of control refers to those events that are contingent upon one's own behavior. External locus of control suggests those events that are not contingent upon one's own actions, but rather upon luck, chance, fate, or other outside factors.(8) Survey results indicated that dispatchers who perceived a lack of control over their working environment experienced greater occupational stress and burnout.

Those dispatchers who perceived that they had control over their work setting also reported a greater sense of personal achievement and responsibility on the job, while those dispatchers who perceived a lack of control within their agency reported feeling emotionally exhausted and overextended by their work. This lack of control accounted for dispatchers' reporting an impersonal and uncaring attitude toward the citizens they served. A majority of dispatchers also reported that their training, education, skills, and experience were inadequate for the demands of the job. In essence, many dispatchers perceived a negative work setting.

UNIQUE ASPECTS OF DISPATCHER STRESS

While respondents indicated an extensive list of stressors, three particular aspects of their work emerged as particularly stress-inducing. These included their low status within the department's hierarchy, the high level of responsibility they felt toward others, and the lack of training provided to them.

Low Status

One of the stressors that most affected job satisfaction among dispatchers was their perception of low status. Dispatchers commonly reported hearing disparaging remarks, such as "What do you expect? They are only dispatchers," from departmental personnel or callers. Their civilian status within a sworn organization and their physical isolation from other personnel reinforced this perception of being second-class citizens. This degradation came not only from line officers but also from supervisors and other civilian employees who participated in "dispatcher bashing."

Responsibility to Others

The high level of responsibility that dispatchers feel toward others represented another unique source of stress. Dispatchers truly act as "lifelines" to fellow workers and citizens. Thus, when someone calls for assistance, the dispatcher must initiate the response and monitor the progress. For example, when a police officer calls for backup, it is the dispatcher's responsibility to identify the problem and send available units to the scene, while at the same time remaining calm and handling other incoming emergencies.

Lack of Formal Training

Dispatchers cited the lack of formal training as another significant source of stress and burnout. While many occupations require advanced educational degrees and provide formal training to employees, dispatchers often learn their trade on the job. Although their high level of responsibility would suggest proper training, this is rarely the case. Academy and ongoing inservice training programs for dispatchers are extremely rare. The training programs and workshops that do exist often are conducted by private organizations not associated with the agency.

Should individual dispatchers decide to attend an outside training program, it is unlikely that their departments will sponsor or reimburse them for expenses. Yet, dispatchers know that few police administrators would hesitate to sponsor or reimburse a sworn officer who attends a training program.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Administrators can use the results of this study to re-examine the support networks within their agencies in order to alleviate the high level of occupational stress inherent in all aspects of policing. Simple steps may prove quite effective. For example, by making sure that dispatchers are included in after-hours gatherings, supervisors can go a long way toward integrating them into an agency's sense of esprit de corps. Such seemingly modest moves afford dispatchers a chance to socialize with officers and other members of their department and gives them an ideal opportunity to establish peer support.

In addition, professional or peer counseling should be made available to any dispatcher experiencing high levels of job-related stress. Counseling may prove invaluable not only in terms of the health of individual employees but also in terms of job performance. Administrators should consider support networks and seminars as part of an inservice training program. For example, spouse/companion programs could be implemented to give spouses and significant others a better understanding of the complex role dispatchers play in an agency and the anticipated stress that may accompany that role.

Communication and understanding between dispatchers and line officers also foster a sense of support. Supervisors should strongly encourage that dispatchers ride along with field officers to observe the actual scenarios officers encounter. In turn, officers, as part of their inservice and academy training, should observe dispatchers within their particular work setting. Administrators also must avoid assigning officers to the dispatch center as a form of punishment for ineffective field performance. The dispatch center should not become a dumping ground for officers with poor attitudes.

Police executives must recognize the importance of job satisfaction among all employees, including dispatchers. Therefore, they should re-examine promotional opportunities, particularly for those dispatchers who perceive themselves as lower status employees.

While salary and benefits do not guarantee job satisfaction, adequate compensation does affirm an agency's commitment to its employees. Improved salary and benefits are a tangible way to show dispatchers that management understands their difficult role.

The complex role performed by dispatchers can be simplified through proper training sessions so that the training, education, and skills of dispatchers correspond adequately to the job demands. These sessions should be similar to academy and inservice classes provided to officers but should be modified to meet the specific needs of dispatchers. Like inservice training designed for officers, they also should be tuition-free.

Additionally, "dispatcher reference guides" should be made available to assist each dispatcher. These guides should contain details and procedures focusing on: Obtaining vital information; performing call analyses; protecting callers, victims, and officers; learning apprehension/custody processes; and preserving evidence. Departments can obtain these guides from a commercial dispatcher training provider and modify them to meet specific agency needs and demands.

Further, police managers need to create a work environment that allows dispatchers some degree of control over their actions. This can be accomplished by permitting dispatchers to provide input during any decisionmaking process affecting the communications section. Examples include operational policy and communications center hiring procedures.

Finally, if dispatchers are to be perceived as team players, they must receive supervisory support, as well as support from other members of the department. Supervisory support includes not only positive reinforcement but also the necessary resources to accomplish assigned tasks.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this formal research project indicate that dispatchers report job stress and burnout primarily as a result of job dissatisfaction, a lack of social support, and a perceived lack of control. Fortunately, police managers can take fairly simple steps to address these factors and thus foster a better work environment for dispatchers.

As the role of law enforcement officers continues to grow more complex, so too do the role and responsibilities of police dispatchers. Administrators who treat dispatchers as second-class citizens do more than contribute to stress and burnout among a vital component of their agency's workforce. They jeopardize the ability of their agency to respond effectively to criminal activity and emergency situations.

Endnotes

1 H. Seyle, Stress Without Distress (revised) (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1978), 1.

2 A.M. Pines, E. Aronson, and D. Kafry, Burnout: From Tedium to Personal Growth (New York: Free Press, 1981), 15.

3 Ibid.

4 J.D. Sewell and L. Crew, "The Forgotten Victim: Stress and the Police Dispatcher," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 53, no. 3, 1984; T. Guthery and J. Guthery, "Dispatchers: The Vital Link," Police Product News, December, 1984; T.W. Burke, "The Relationship Between Dispatcher Stress and Social Support, Job Satisfaction, and Locus of Control" (Ph.D. diss., City University of New York, 1991), Dissertation Abstracts International, 52/05-A, 1903.

5 The study included subjects who were exclusively police dispatchers; exclusively fire/ambulance dispatchers; those who dispatched both police and fire/ambulance personnel; or those who served as civilian clerks within a law enforcement institution. However, for the purpose of this article, only those who were exclusively police dispatchers are discussed.

6 C.L. Hulin, P.C. Smith, L.M. Kendall, and E.A. Locke, Cornell Studies of Job Satisfaction: Model and Method of Measuring Job Satisfaction (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University, 1963).

7 G. Caplan and M. Killilea, Support Systems and Mutual Help: Multidisciplinary Explorations (New York: Grune and Stratton, 1976).

8 H.M. Lefcourt, Locus of Control: Current Trends in Theory and Research (New Jersey: Erlbaum, 1976); J.B. Rotter, "Generalized Expectancies for Internal Versus External Control of Reinforcement," Psychological Monographs, 80, no. 1, 1966.