Executive Chief Officer Leadership II (ECO II)

ECO-208 - Burnout: How to Keep Firefighters in an Optimal Performance Zone

Thursday, August 25, 2022

2:45 PM – 3:45 PM

Location: Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, 301 AB

Sponsored By

Speaker(s)

James R. Rychard, BA - Psychology

Firefighter / Instructor
Burlington Fire Department
Burlington, Ontario, Canada
JB

John Buckman III

Fire Chief (Retired)
German Township Fire Department
Evansville, Indiana

Burnout can be the result from one of two means: too much work stress or too little meaning and/or purpose. We want to discuss the importance of: Stress and Burnout; an Optimal Performance Zone; and a Strategy to help keep firefighters healthy and strong (mentally and emotionally). We will look into all states of performance: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual (whys). These states will also be relevant for higher ranks. Too much stress leads to overload, and when left unchecked can lead to Burnout. But also the lack of feeling purposeful/not receiving rewards (internal and external) can be just as equally damaging for firefighters. Burnt out firefighters is a significant issue for Fire Service Leaders. They affect themselves, their crew, the service delivery, and the overall brand of the organization/fire department. The healthier and happier a firefighter is, both personally and professionally leads to more engagement in life. For Fire Service Leaders an engaged employee makes for a great return on investment for their organizations and operating budgets.

Learning Objectives:

The participant will understand how quickly firefighters can fall into a burnout state from two means: chronic work stress and too little meaning purpose/a lack of rewards (internal and external).
The participant will understand why focusing on peak performance of firefighters via their: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual capacities is the ideal way to avoid reaching a state of burnout.
The participant will be exposed to a 1908 tool used by Olympic coaches: the "Yerkes and Dodson Law". This law explains that performance increases with physiological arousal but up to a certain point. When levels of arousal become too much, performance plummets and can lead to a state burnout.