What's the appropriate attire for ride-alongs?
Click here to read the solutions to the March Personnel Problem of the Month: Part-Time Job, Full-Time Trouble
Problem to Ponder
What I'm about to describe is not really a personnel problem, yet. But it could turn a can of worms into a den of rattlesnakes if you don't do something about it. So here we go.
You have been the company officer at a single-station firehouse with a four-person crew for the past five years. The crew consists of you, a great engineer (driver) who has been at the station since you arrived, a solid firefighter who has been there for more than three years and a new firefighter who has three years on the job but has only worked on your crew for the past four months. Let's call your new firefighter Phil.
Phil is a solid firefighter. He's in excellent shape, performs well in all phases of the job, and he gets along very well with the entire crew. Phil is also very attractive to the opposite sex. Every now and again you hear about one of Phil's recent conquests. Phil seems destined to go into medic school because he so finely fits the model paramedic image: big, bold and beautiful.
One morning right after the shift starts, Phil asks you if it would be OK to have a friend of his come down and ride for three or four hours that evening. He tells you it's a girl he just started dating, he wants to impress her and, "She could be the one, Skip." You say, "Sure, have her come down," and then you pretty much forget about it 5 minutes later. You have riders all of the time, and it's no big deal.
Right after you finish up the dinner dishes, you instantly remember Phil asking you about a rider when in walks a beautiful woman who looks about 19 years old. She is well built and in very good shape, but the most striking thing about Phil's friend is that she's wearing nothing but a bikini top with short (I mean short) denim shorts and high-heeled shoes — that's it.
Once you recover from what you are looking at, what's your next move? Your entire career could be riding on this one.
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We'll post reader responses here, as well as in the May issue of FireRescue.
Solutions to March's Personnel Problem of the Month: Part-Time Job, Full-Time Trouble
Last month's problem focused on a firefighter (we called him Dan) who had a side job that became more important than his actual job as a professional firefighter (see "Part-Time Job, Full-Time Trouble," March FireRescue magazine, p. 106). I got three responses to this problem. Let's take a look at them.
The Responses
1) "In my opinion, department policy should not allow any personnel to work a second job while on duty. Gray areas (e.g., writing a book) can be dealt with on a case-by-case basis with sound legal advice and department policy. Dan's problem was created due to a lack of leadership. Expectations for Dan's work should be spelled out for him and enforced. Acceptable and unacceptable workplace behavior should be communicated clearly, monitored and enforced. If Dan does not improve immediately, I suggest regular written performance reviews and discipline as required.
"I would work hard to help Dan be successful in the fire service, but the choice is his. Proper study of your state laws and meeting with your union is advisable. It would also be good to have the union's support for what's right in this situation, legally and ethically. Many people at the station where Dan works are probably thinking, ‘Why do they not deal with him?' I suggest strong, friendly yet stern leadership with Dan. If he does not comply, make his dream of being a full-time realtor a reality. It appears he would love it."
2) "Simple: There should be a policy within the city for all city employees that no personal business may be conducted on city time. Period."
3) "I would have a face-to-face conversation with this firefighter and advise him that his work ethic is being affected by his side job. I would advise him that [being a firefighter] is his regular job and that it comes first. I would make him aware that once we have finished with our station duties and other daily activities, he can do work related to his part-time business. I would also tell him his attitude is affecting the station environment and it needs to stop. If he feels he is burnt out or needs to take some time off, then I could work to get him the needed time. I would also advise him that I will monitor his work ethic for several months, and if it does not improve, I will have to take the issue to a higher authority. I would document all of the discussions that I have with Dan and keep a journal of the issue and when it started."
Feedback
This particular problem is common in the fire service, and it really strikes a nerve with me. It is very hard to get a job with my department. We hire an average of 100 people a year from about 4,000 people applying for the job. That's one person hired for every 40 who apply.
There was a period in my career when I did a lot of work down at our training academy, and I always enjoyed working with our new recruits and the training captains. The recruits' enthusiasm, motivation and basic elation for being selected into the department rubbed off on all the people who interacted with them.
These kids (now that I'm old) had hit the jackpot (we all did), and they walked around all day with great big smiles on their faces. They had become instant heroes, had a great work schedule and were making lifetime friends. They were also getting a steady paycheck, a 401k plan, great retirement benefits along with our deferred retirement option plan (DROP) and enough insurance and fringe benefits to take care of any significant others for the rest of their lives.
All of us have been out of balance at least once in our careers, and I always greatly appreciated the people who put me back into balance. But this is where my "strikes a nerve" comment comes into play. I just described what a great a job we have and the benefits that come with being a firefighter. But that doesn't mean we don't have to deal with people like Dan, who will go to great lengths to screw all that up.
All three responses addressed the issue, but Dan is a guy who just doesn't get it, and this one will probably go the distance.
Response No. 1 probably describes with the most accuracy what will happen to Dan. The response also noted that this situation stemmed from a "lack of leadership." I totally agree with this statement. If Dan's company officer had recognized what was happening about 11 months earlier and addressed it, he might have been able to help Dan and save him from himself. But this issue has now been going on for 12 months, and Dan has pretty much been empowered to keep acting in an unacceptable manner. As a matter of fact, it has gone on for so long that he probably feels it's his God-given right to sell real estate while on duty, and no one can say otherwise.
I also strongly agree with the last couple sentences in response No. 1: "If he does not comply, make his dream of being a full-time realtor a reality. It appears he would love it." Dan's dream of becoming a full- time real-estate agent will probably come true. When you're dealing with Dan (or anybody else with a problem), just remember that he will make that choice for himself. You're just doing your job; Dan's the one with the problem.
At this point, your best bet to save Dan is to sit him down in private and be brutally honest with him. Point out to him that there's no better job on the planet than being a firefighter, but he's doing everything in his power to screw that up. Explain in no uncertain terms what his responsibilities are around the station, on the emergency scene and to his fellow employees at the firehouse. I would end the conversation with "No side jobs at the station. Period," and then actively enforce this policy.
Response No. 2 describes the city policy that should be in place to support you while you deal with Dan. Without this policy, you're in a pretty bad position. The last thing you need at this point is to have Dan inform you of the lack of any policy, empowering himself even further. Fortunately, though, most cities do have a policy in place that addresses this issue.
Response No. 3 does a good job of describing what needs to be said to Dan, but I feel that you should stop all side-job activities and keep Dan totally focused on being a firefighter while he's at his "real" job. If you give him any slack on this point, he'll keep doing what he's doing.
From this point on, I would continually monitor Dan's activities and address anything that was even slightly out of balance with him. I would also (as suggested in response No.
3) keep a running log documenting all conversations and observations related to the situation with Dan. Finally, I would inform my supervisor and contact Dan's union representative if his conflict of interest continued after our discussion. Dan needs to realize that you're very serious about him doing only one job while on duty — being a professional firefighter.
