VOLUNTEERS CORNER ❘ By Candice McDonald
Workplace drama in the volunteer fire service, to include both departments and ancillary organizations, is one of the most destructive forces we don’t publicly talk about. As a firefighter and researcher, I have learned to quietly sit back and study the barriers keeping organizations from reaching their goals. One of the biggest failures I hear about is the failure to address workplace drama in the volunteer fire service. With only 38.5% of volunteer firefighters being satisfied, workplace drama is something we cannot afford to ignore.1
We see leaders who fail to take a zero-tolerance approach against the drama and a good number of them are contributing to it. It is critical for organizational success for fire service leadership to create a culture that does not tolerate workplace drama. The culture should promote unity, effective communication, and strategy-based solutions to solve problems.
- Focusing on Job Satisfaction for Volunteer Firefighter Retention
- Attitudes and Fire Service Perceptions
- Seven Trust Busters That Damage Your Team
- Tailboard Talk: Toxic Culture
Workplace drama comes in different forms. It can include gossiping within or outside of the organization, spreading rumors, allowing negativity to spew, withholding information, emotional rants, rudeness, passive-aggressive actions, discrediting other volunteers, excluding others, handling disciplinary issues inconsistently, aggressive outbursts, taking sides during conflict, and making decisions based on favoritism over investigative facts. Regardless of how drama manifests, allowing it to continue can have negative impacts on the organization.
Negative Impacts of Workplace Drama
Member retention. A drama-filled environment is exhausting and can cause quality volunteers to become silent and slowly start to disengage. When good volunteers stop speaking up and showing up, workplace drama may be a contributing factor. Quality volunteers want to serve in an environment where they can thrive and be successful, not a toxic culture filled with drama. Volunteers that find themselves serving with organizations filled with unaddressed drama are more likely to seek other opportunities outside of the fire service to donate their time, where they can be successful without the added stress.
Productivity stopper. Time spent spreading rumors, gossiping, and carrying out secret agendas reduces the amount of time organizations are focused on how they can better contribute to the communities they took an oath to serve. Workplace drama is a time suck. Researcher Cy Wakeman indicates employees spend 2.5 hours a day engaged in drama in the workplace.2 Volunteers find themselves spending time engaging in unproductive conversations, emotional rants, or gossiping instead of carrying out actions that will positively impact organizational goals. When workplace drama is present, volunteers also start to fear sharing out-of-the-box thinking that could lead to progression. The fear of becoming a target of gossip or aggressive/passive-aggressive attacks keeps the member quiet.
Leadership failure. Respect is lost for leaders who fail to act against workplace drama. Even the guilty volunteers who find themselves in the middle of every workplace drama will start to question why leaders don’t engage to stop the drama. Volunteers need to know their leadership is willing to lead and not be afraid to have difficult conversations to stop workplace drama. These conversations need to take place with violators of all ranks, not just frontline volunteers. Leaders who lead to be liked or who thrive on power will fail to command the respect of volunteers. Being an unpaid “volunteer leader” does not give one a free a free pass to look the other way. In addition to the loss of respect for leadership, volunteers serving in environments where leaders fail to act will keep observed concerns to themselves and not see a reason to come forward to share areas that need improvement. When workplace drama occurs, leaders must act immediately.
Team division. Workplace drama leads to team division. Team division becomes visible as cliques begin to form and alliances start to drive officer elections. Officers who are elected based on popularity over qualifications put both members and the community at risk. When alliances start to form and the workplace drama is allowed to run rampant, unity is lost. A loss of teamwork can lead to low morale and lack of confidence in fellow coworkers. In a job that is considered high risk, having confidence in those you serve next to is critical. There is no room for team division.
The cost. Workplace drama left unaddressed comes at a cost to both the financial and psychological well-being of the organization. The drama first impacts the psychological well-being by emotionally draining volunteers. The emotional toll can then lead to negative financial impacts. Volunteers who are emotionally taxed from drama may start to disengage and eventually resign. The investment in training and equipment is lost. Leaders who fail to shut down workplace drama that has escalated to harassment may also open the organization up for lawsuits.
Methods for Stopping Workplace Drama
Lead by example. Leadership must be willing to stop participating in workplace drama. This includes gossip and negative talk about others. If a leader talks poorly about another volunteer, it sends a message that it is okay to gossip about other members. Even just listening to the rumor sets a tone that gossiping is accepted. Leaders cannot engage in workplace drama, period. Stopping the drama means that, as a leader, you need to hold yourself to the highest standard. Leaders should continuously examine their motives and how their decisions are being made. For example, don’t withhold an opportunity from someone because another officer or an organizational gatekeeper doesn’t like him. It should be based on qualifications without personal feelings. Leaders should strive to be fair in how they hand out opportunities and promotions.
Shut the story down. Stop repeating stories and allowing them to take place in front of you. When a drama-filled conversations starts, don’t participate. Communicate immediately to the storytellers that the drama is unacceptable and instruct them to find a more productive topic. Many times, when people are upset, they want to be heard and will share their story again and again to gain attention and validation. These types of stories can quickly become toxic for the organization. Shut them down. A reminder from a leader of what is acceptable and what is not can go a long way in creating a professional environment. Encourage all team members to shut down unproductive conversations when they hear them and provide volunteers training/language on how to have a difficult conversation. Many times, people don’t know how to act in those situations, so they just stay quiet while feeling uncomfortable.
Manage conflict. Leaders need to learn to manage conflict and teach volunteers how conflict should be managed within the organization. When workplace drama starts to rise, leadership should deal with it head on by holding a meeting with all parties involved to sort out the issue. When a volunteer shows up to complain about another volunteer, put the conversation on pause and say you want all parties present to discuss the situation and find resolution with all sides of the story being shared at the time. This will send a message that you care not only about what the issue is but also about finding a solution. It lets volunteers know that you also don’t take sides when managing conflict.
Conversation drill down. Hold a facilitated conversation with volunteers to allow them to express fears and worries in a productive manner. Have volunteers write down on sticky notes their concerns about a challenge or project in the firehouse. Once the concern is documented, ask the volunteers to identify any risks tied to the concern and rank it by likelihood. Once the worries are on the table, have the volunteers develop steps for risk mitigation. This exercise offers volunteers a way to voice their concerns in a manner that is facilitated to ensure it is safe and solution focused. Hosting a conversation drill down prevents unproductive venting and offers a structured way for volunteers to reflect on the issue productively.
Promote candid conversations. Encourage volunteers to be transparent with leadership and others about real issues. Create a culture in which it is better to communicate with another volunteer about an issue with a goal to fix it instead of complaining behind someone’s back. Candid conversations are even more effective when supported by data or a documented tactic. For example, if you notice a performance issue on scene, instead of bashing the technique being used, offer to show the volunteer an easier method you learned during a Hands-on Training Evolution at FDIC International or the fire academy. Most volunteers want to be successful, and candid feedback presented as a way to succeed over a personal attack reduces resistance.
Transparency is key. Information travels, regardless of a leader trying to keep it close. Be honest and open with your team. Share the facts, even the uncomfortable ones. Control the story before the rumors control it for you. If you don’t have information about an upcoming change, share that you do not know. When volunteers learn about changes from any other source than leadership, drama begins to stir. When volunteers are left to speculate, they are more likely to gossip and buy in to the rumors. Transparency leads to consistent messaging. Decisions carried out in secret will foster drama.
Lead with compassion. Volunteers are human and will make mistakes. Some of the mistakes they make will lead to drama that is created unintentionally. Meet individually with volunteers to find out what their motive is. They could have a valid concern but were unsure of how to express it. Use the situation as a lesson to teach them how to navigate conflict within the organization. Deal with the issue and move on. Avoid holding a grudge or taking the mistake personally. Your job is to lead and develop your volunteers, not make them outcasts. Turning the organization against an individual because of a performance issue is not leadership; it is lunch table bullying.
Document drama. It is key for leaders to document all incidents of workplace drama. Keeping a log of monitored behaviors will help leaders identify repeat offenders and patterns. Documenting such incidents properly is also helpful in the event a disgruntled volunteer escalates a complaint to the city/town council or files a lawsuit. Having factual information documented for each incident and how it was handled also provides a point of reference for review. It is critical to also include any corrective actions that might have been taken and how the situation was resolved between all parties.
Ensure accountability. Once you develop policies on workplace drama and train volunteers on the expectations for managing conflict, it is important to hold volunteers accountable. Hold them accountable for their behaviors and how they work to resolve conflict with their coworkers. Don’t dismiss concerns; treat each issue as if it is important. Consistency and listening are key. Empower volunteers to work out the issues on their own, but offer guidance on how to handle it. Hold them accountable by asking for feedback on how it went. Remember, ignoring the smallest concerns can make them perceive you as a leader who doesn’t care.
Corrective action with class. When a volunteer is performing poorly, offer a corrective action plan in private. Too often, senior leadership will gossip with others about another member’s behaviors. This is a conversation that should be kept private. A leader’s job is to cultivate success, not doubt. Gossiping about poor performance can lead to team division. Many volunteer leaders mistakenly believe that they are providing a volunteer with a privilege by being a member and members should “suck it up.” What they fail to realize is, their job is to motivate and foster engagement.
Like with any new relationship, there is a honeymoon period for new volunteers. This typically lasts three to six months. Once the honeymoon phase is over, morale can decline. It is the leader’s job to motivate the volunteers beyond the honeymoon phase and provide them with the skills they need to succeed.
Although workplace drama is a reality in the fire service and needs to be addressed, that doesn’t mean that you must let it distract you from your passion to serve. Keep focused on the positive differences you are making in the communities you serve, and provide positive reinforcement to those volunteers who continue to be drama free.
Endnotes
1. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4283&context=dissertations.
2. https://www.realitybasedleadership.com/the-cost-of-drama.
Candice McDonald is a federal special agent in Ohio with 15 years of service. She is also a firefighter/inspector/EMS chief (ret.) and has a doctor of business administration/homeland security.
