December 2004/January 2005 Issue Number 66

Is a monthly electronic newsletter which links current events and issues to the daily challenges faced by fire and emergency services managers. Current topics in the areas of leadership development, workplace diversity, change management, and conflict resolution will be discussed.

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Consider This...

National Fire Service Staff and Command Course sponsored by Maryland Fire-Rescue Institute. Ocean City, MD, March 9-16, 2005. Linda Willing will be leading one session during this course. Go to www.mfri.org for more information.  

11th International Conference of Fire Service Women March 29-April 3, 2005. Montgomery County, Maryland. Go to www.wfsi.org for more information.  

FDIC (Fire Department Instructors Conference) April 11-16, 2005, Indianapolis, IN. Linda Willing will be presenting a workshop on decision making at this conference.  

The Cost of Avoidance  

The approaching holidays are a stressful time for many people. Conflicts, both professional and personal, are more likely to occur. Many people are uncomfortable with conflict and choose to avoid it whenever possible. In some cases, avoidance may be appropriate, but other times, avoidance can make situations worse, and even lead to tragic outcomes.

Consider workplace violence. Why does it happen? Can it be prevented? The fact is that incidents of workplace violence almost never come out of the blue, as completely random events. There is always some kind of history; an unresolved dispute that has festered, worsening personal problems that have gone unrecognized. When the worst happens and someone is injured or killed, many people react with shock, but if they do some analysis and self-reflection, they will usually see that there were many opportunities over time to mitigate the problem before it reached crisis proportions.  

Effectively resolving conflict is like fighting fire. If a fire is very small, it may go out on its own. But a growing fire must be dealt with actively. Avoidance and delay only lead to a worsening of the situation and a much more difficult problem to address later on. So it is with workplace conflict. Escalating interpersonal conflict or entrenched patterns of dysfunctional behavior will only grow worse if nothing is done. And just like with fires, when the situation reaches crisis levels, there is little to do at that point other than damage control.  

What can you do? There are many possibilities, both organizationally and personally. Organizations must not ignore the so-called problem employee, passing that person along from one crew or shift to another without addressing underlying causes for the behavior. Individuals must be held accountable for their actions, and there must be consistent standards that apply to everyone on the job. Performance evaluations should be redesigned to address important issues and generate real and honest information. Supervisors should be trained how to give effective feedback and intervene early when problems first occur.  

On an individual level, everyone on the job has the responsibility to look out for co-workers and recognize when someone may be in trouble. This means approaching someone in a compassionate and supportive way when they appear to be struggling with personal issues or are having trouble on the job. It means understanding the high cost of isolation in a job as team oriented as the fire service, and working to diminish that sense of isolation even among those who are less "one of the guys" than others. It means not enabling the common practice of picking on the weakest member of the group. In short, it means bringing your humanity to work with you every day.  

All this is not just about being a good person. It's about keeping people safe, and recognizing that every member of the crew is valuable and necessary to achieve the common mission .After the workplace shooting, after the off-duty suicide, it is common for people to ask, "Is there something I could have done to prevent this?" The answer to that question is yes, but it requires a commitment that carries over into every day of work, and the courage to confront problems instead of avoiding them.  

 

Another woman has been chosen to lead a major career fire department in the United States. Bonnie Bleskachek, a fifteen year veteran of the Minneapolis Fire Department, has been selected as the new chief of that organization. She is currently serving as interim chief in Minneapolis following the departure earlier this year of Chief Rocco Forte.  

Source: Women in the Fire Service  

 

Direct Threats vs. the ADA  

Lorraine McKenzie was a sheriff's officer for ten years with entirely positive performance evaluations when she started suffering from psychological problems related to childhood abuse. After an incident when she fired her service revolver into her father's grave, she was put on disability leave during which she continued to suffer problems related to post traumatic stress. Finally, she voluntarily resigned her position to seek full time medical care, but asked that she be considered for positions on the department once her treatment was completed.  

After several months of treatment, Ms. McKenzie was released by her supervising psychiatrist, and attempted to return to work as a police officer. However, her applications to all departments were rejected, including to her former employer. Her former employer did not base its decision on any formalized psychological evaluation, but instead primarily on feelings of incumbent officers that they did not trust Ms. McKenzie, and that there could be liability issues.  

Ms. McKenzie sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act, saying that her psychological problems constituted a disability that her employer had the obligation to reasonably accommodate. And although the jury in the trial found that Ms. McKenzie was disabled under the ADA, that she was otherwise qualified for the job, and that she had been discriminated against, they also found that the department was justified in this discrimination because she posed a "direct threat" to herself and others if reinstated as a police officer.  

The law states that under the ADA, an employer should consider whether a mentally disabled employee's purported misconduct could be remedied through a reasonable accommodation. If no reasonable accommodation can be provided, an employer may discriminate against an employee for conduct only if the conduct poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others. The appeals court, in affirming the lower court's decision, specifically stated that Ms. McKenzie's misuse of her service weapon constituted a direct threat to the public, her co-workers and herself, and therefore, discrimination against her was justified.  

Source: Lorraine "Jade" McKenzie v. Mark Benton, in his official capacity as Sheriff of Natrona County, 10 th Circuit Court of Appeals, #02-8024

© Linda F. Willing, 2005