Promoting Officer Wellness in Secondary Employment and Overtime
Fatigue comes in many forms.
For most, it's only temporary, but for others, fatigue can develop into unrelenting exhaustion that is not relieved by rest.
Physically, fatigue is synonymous with sleeplessness and feeling overtired. Mentally, fatigue can manifest as depression, anxiety, and emotional distress.
The intense feelings of stress that fatigue puts on an individual can significantly affect their behavior and decision-making. For public safety agencies, such as law enforcement, where officers are often exposed to high-stress scenarios, fatigue can have a detrimental impact on officer health and wellness.
In 2018, the Fraternal Order of Police surveyed nearly 8,000 law enforcement officers and found that:
79% of participants have suffered critical stress in the line of duty
69% of participants reported that stressful experiences developed into unresolved/lingering emotional issues
90% of participants believe there is a stigma in law enforcement that prevents officers from seeking mental health treatment
Preventing officer fatigue can be challenging, but it's important to understand all of the contributing factors. For law enforcement officers, fatigue can often develop from an unbalanced combination of regular shift work, overtime, and secondary employment. Secondary employment refers to extra-duty jobs in which off-duty law enforcement officers provide their services to the local community.
Examples include:
Special events, such as concerts and sporting events
Private venues such as movie theaters, restaurants, or churches
While law enforcement officers arguably benefit the most from secondary employment opportunities, the additional income they earn can often come at the cost of their health and well-being. The incentive to work more hours can push officers to exceed their physical and mental limits in the line of duty, leading to the development of fatigue.
How can the law enforcement industry take action against fatigue?
73% of the participants in the Fraternal Order of Police survey considered Peer Support as the most helpful form of treatment. In order to make peer support more accessible, there must be cultural changes in Law Enforcement that promote and support officer wellness.
Some ways that agencies can provide better support include:
Talking openly about mental health.
Being conscious of language when discussing officer wellness.
Educating officers about mental health and how to identify signs of fatigue.
Another way that agencies can promote officer wellness is to ensure that they have a system to enforce limits on secondary employment and promote safe and fair policies.
Implementing a system that facilitates, measures, and corrects secondary employment issues may sound complex. However, the PowerDetails platform makes it easy to manage these details and automatically enforces agency policies that prevent officers from working too many hours in a given time period.
If you would like to learn more about the benefits of PowerDetails and how we can help your agency promote officer wellness in secondary employment/overtime, please click here to Watch a Demo.