KEY IDEAS:
- 911 operators, like other first responders, often struggle with burnout, post-traumatic stress disorder, and chronic health conditions.
- 911 leaders must proactively engage employees to foster a healthy work environment.
- 911 operators have more data than ever but may require additional training and technology to manage the influx of disparate information.
- Data integration solutions and artificial intelligence (AI) can reduce overwhelm, optimize workloads, and flag operators who need support.
Every day, 911 telecommunicators answer dozens of calls, never knowing what they're about to hear. In the worst scenarios, they bear the brunt of a caller’s anger, panic, or raw emotion. Even so, operators must work with speed, precision, and empathy, balancing an overwhelming influx of information while calmly providing life-saving services.
Over time, however, the constant barrage takes a toll, resulting in psychological stressors and long-term physical impacts. The mental strain can be exacerbated by understaffing, low pay, and negative work environments. In recent years, 911 leaders have started speaking up and advocating for change in the workplace.
To understand the challenges and opportunities for improvement in 911 operations, we spoke to a panel of leaders invested in healthier work environments and data-driven wellness solutions. Our panelists were:
- Tipi Brookins, Chief of Staff, Office of Unified Communications (Washington, D.C.)
- Kari Morrissey, Director, Anoka County Emergency Communications - 911 (Minnesota)
- Dru Clarke, Assistant Director of Operations, Fairfax County Department of Public Safety Communications (Virginia)
- Mike Gibbens, Peregrine (moderator)
Keep reading to learn more about the interconnected issues of wellness, retention, and technology, and how to leverage data to design effective wellness strategies
💡 WHAT IS 911 OPERATOR WELLNESS? 911 operator wellness refers to the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of emergency telecommunicators who handle high-stress, traumatic calls. It includes workload management, mental health support, workplace culture, and access to data and technology that reduce cognitive overload. Strong wellness programs help improve retention, performance, and emergency response outcomes.
What challenges impact 911 operator wellness?
“If we do not make sure that our people are well, they're not going to stay, and we're always going to have a staffing crisis. We're going to be in the hamster wheel.” —Tipi Brookins, Chief of Staff, Office of Unified Communications
911 personnel face many of the same stressors as first responders, including exposure to traumatic incidents, understaffing, and irregular sleep schedules. But often, 911 operators feel less valued than other emergency response personnel, and they may be worn down by strenuous shift work, insufficient breaks, unwelcoming facilities, and uncompetitive compensation.
💡 COMMON STRESSORS FOR 911 DISPATCH AND CALL TAKERS:
- Perceived lack of respect compared to sworn law enforcement personnel
- Shift work
- Lack of breaks
- Poor financial compensation
- Substandard workplace facilities
- Insufficient support from supervisory staff
- Abusive or irate calls from citizens
- Calls involving child abuse or death
Source: The Chronic Health Effects of Work-Related Stressors Experienced by Police Communications Workers
A study published in the Annals of Emergency Dispatch and Response revealed that the vast majority of 911 personnel reported high emotional demands and stress — 91.8% and 95.8%, respectively. And while 97% of participants expected exposure to critical incidents, only 53% received formal training about the link between that exposure and mental health conditions.
According to Brookins, the Office of Unified Communications takes over 1.4 million calls per year. That breaks down to about 18,000 calls per week, with just 26 to 28 call takers on the day shift. Over time, that continual stress can deteriorate personnel’s physical and mental health.
“If we do not make sure that our people are well, they're not going to stay, and we're always going to have a staffing crisis,” Brookins said. “We're going to be in the hamster wheel.”
But faced with years of personnel and fiscal constraints, many 911 centers are stuck treading water. Centers often receive limited funding for new tech that could improve operators’ experiences, Brookins said. 911 leaders also lack quality data that would allow them to ask better questions, create effective wellness strategies, and reach out to struggling employees in real time.
📈 KEY STATS ABOUT TRAUMA AND HEALTH AMONG EMERGENCY DISPATCHERS:
- 91.8% report high emotional demands
- 95.8% report high levels of stress
- 97% expect exposure to critical incidents
- 53% receive formal training about the correlation between critical incidents and mental health conditions
- 69% estimated risk of mental health conditions related to work
- 64% estimated risk of physical health conditions related to work
How can 911 leaders proactively support operator wellness?
“Our job as leaders is to make sure we take care of you here. We're trying to give you more time between calls. We're trying to look at that data to see if you've handled a lot of bad calls, so we can be proactive and check on you sooner. —Kari Morrissey, Director, Anoka County Emergency Communications - 911
To get out of that negative cycle, 911 leaders must embrace a proactive approach. That means checking on employees before situations become serious, said Clarke of the Fairfax County Department of Public Safety Communications. When leaders truly understand workers’ needs, they can prioritize sustainable, impactful solutions — not just stick a Band-Aid on a wound.
“If you give the right tools to an unwell person, the outcomes are still going to be damaging,” Clarke said. “You're not going to drive the success that you want.”
Morrissey of Emergency Communications 911 in Anoka County said her emergency communications center (ECC) has implemented more frequent breaks, a massage chair, a workout room, and a wellness counselor who comes every Thursday so employees can seek support as needed.
Morrissey also leverages data to make shifts more equitable. When data analysis indicated the night shift was staffed too heavily, she reassigned a few employees to provide more breathing room on the day shift. She included employees in the discussion, too, sharing the numbers to explain why the change was necessary.
💡 HOW CAN DATA TECHNOLOGY REDUCE BURNOUT AMONG DISPATCHERS? A staffing analysis can indicate which shifts are overstaffed and which require more support, equipping leaders to adjust their shift model to better distribute the workload.
While Morrissey takes responsibility for at-work support, she also leads the conversation about at-home wellness practices, encouraging employees to take personal responsibility for their well-being.
“Our job as leaders is to make sure we take care of you here. We're trying to give you more time between calls. We're trying to look at that data to see if you've handled a lot of bad calls, so we can be proactive and check on you sooner,” Morrissey said. “But what are you doing for yourself?”
READ MORE → RTCCs Behind the ‘Screens:’ Why Operator Wellness Matters
How do you build a culture of wellness in a 911 center?
Previous generations may have thought struggling operators just weren’t cut out for the job. But today’s leaders need to reframe their perspective and shift their workplace culture, Morrissey said. She asked, “It’s not ‘who can we get rid of?’ but ‘who can we save?’”
Anoka County ECC leaders check in with probationary employees every two weeks during their first year, which provides more opportunities to catch issues — such as dipping quality assurance scores — before they escalate.
“I can generally say we've saved people because we've caught them,” Morrissey said. “And we've also lost people when our supervisors have forgotten to check on them. … We've had people quit.”
💡 WHAT ARE SIGNS OF BURNOUT IN 911 OPERATORS?
- Increased sick leave or absenteeism
- Emotional withdrawal or irritability on calls
- Declining QA scores
- Sleep disruption and chronic fatigue
- Reduced empathy or engagement
Don’t just go through the motions
Clarke aims to mitigate early exits from his agency by monitoring upticks in sick leave usage, noting out-of-character attitudes on calls, and scheduling regular meetings with probationary employees. But leaders need to create a culture of trust to make sure those conversations are actually productive, he said.
“Sometimes we do that check-in, but we're just checking the box,” Clarke said. “You have to get that probationary employee into an environment where they actually feel safe enough to tell you the truth about what's happening with them.”
Celebrate your long-term team members
There’s a lot of focus on new hires and early retention, but middle employees are sometimes forgotten about, Clarke said. Make sure your long-haulers feel valued and appreciated.
“You create this ‘us versus them,’ systemic mentality within the center when you start rewarding people based on who's coming through the door versus who stayed,” he said. “We have to be very intentional.”
Include employees in the discussion
When exploring new tech solutions, be transparent and ask your employees for feedback, Brookins suggests. They’ll feel valued, instead of feeling like they’re being forced into change. For example, as Brookins adopts new AI technology, she’s inviting groups of employees to test and train the model. That practice contributes to a culture of curiosity rather than resentment.
Be an advocate
Show operators that you’ve got their back. Create compelling case studies and host tours to demonstrate their hard work to stakeholders. Often, those stakeholders are shocked by telecommunicators’ day-to-day responsibilities, Morrissey said. Building that bridge can help you secure additional resources later on.
💡 HOW TO INTEGRATE WELLNESS INTO YOUR AGENCY’S CULTURE:
✅ Provide a safe space for employees to be transparent about their experiences
✅ Show appreciation to long-term employees
✅ Ask for honest feedback from employees around department decisions
✅ Show off your employees’ hard work to stakeholders
How does data improve 911 operator wellness?
“We are now entering an age where the silos cannot continue. We have to have interoperability, not just between centers, but within our own center. Our systems need to talk to each other and communicate.” —Dru Clarke, Assistant Director of Operations, Fairfax County Department of Public Safety Communications
More data than ever is flowing into 911 centers, but operators don’t always have the resources or technology to navigate the extra burden, Morrissey said.
“Anyone that's wearing the headset, you're digging for historic information, you're running plates, you're doing this and that,” Morrissey said. “You're doing too much. We have to lighten that load.”
911 centers need interoperable tech solutions that reduce workloads, instead of creating more roadblocks. Data integration solutions harmonize siloed datasets — including computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, records management systems, and live call data — and bring the most crucial information forward. With immediate access to critical insights, operators can coordinate more effectively and deploy the right resources.
“We are now entering an age where the silos cannot continue,” Clarke said. “We have to have interoperability, not just between centers, but within our own center. Our systems need to talk to each other and communicate.”
🧠 HOW CAN 911 CENTER DATA HELP IMPROVE DISPATCHER WELLNESS?
- Remove guesswork in the hiring process. Agencies could track performance metrics starting with the pre-hire process, creating standard benchmarks to more easily identify prospects who aren’t a good fit.
- Optimize workload distribution. Leaders can use data to discover the distribution of work within a center, uncover optimal dispatcher-to-officer ratios, and model solutions.
- Quantify resource needs. Using 911 call data, workload data, and staffing data, leaders can build stronger, more specific cases for additional resources.
- Identify operators who may need support. Proactively reach out to employees who have logged long hours or taken multiple difficult calls.
- Gamify key metrics. Give operators real-time access to their performance and agency averages, and create rewards for employees who improve.
How can AI reduce burnout for 911 operators?
With a strong data strategy, agencies are equipped to embrace AI solutions that handle tedious and time-consuming tasks such as transcription and translation. This gives telecommunicators more time and mental space for high-pressure, complex work.
Today, if a 911 caller speaks an uncommon language, dispatch personnel have to waste time contacting an interpreter, Clark said.
“Now you're waiting five minutes with this third-party vendor to get an interpreter for a life-or-death emergency,” he said. “We know that seconds save lives. AI is really helping us mend that gap, to bring service to people that are vulnerable in the community. That's where the biggest impact is going to be.”
Morrissey sees potential for AI to prioritize calls based on urgency, allowing telecommunicators to focus on critical incidents.
“I don't want a 911 call not being answered,” Morrissey said. “Yes, you might have AI or an automated call taker taking your non-emergency call. It's because we want to be able to answer your true emergency when we need to.”
READ MORE → An Integrated Approach to Officer Wellness
Wellness success stories from 911 leaders
Clark shared that when he first started in a communications center, no one learned his name until his probationary period ended. Wanting to change that culture as a leader, Clarke developed an outreach and recruitment committee that rolls out a yellow carpet and welcomes new hires with pom poms, clappers, and cheers.
“We moved from 13 years ago playing a terrible CPR call to scare people away from the job, to now welcoming them in and creating a sense of belonging,” Clarke said. “Then we've paired that with teaching wellness and stress reduction principles in the academy.”
Morrissey has seen monumental changes at Anoka County’s ECC: While they used to operate in the basement, they now have a new facility surrounded by a wooded area. When one of her telecommunicators requested a walking path, Morrissey got it done.
“They can go out and walk through the woods instead of walking laps in the parking lot,” Morrissey said. “They like having that outdoor space.”
Brookins is also proud of the positive changes at the Office of Unified Communications, particularly the wellness coordinator that keeps employees active and engaged through cooking exercises, yoga, massages, and a wellness room.
But even if your agency has limited resources, start wherever you can.
“It doesn't have to be monetary,” Clarke said. “Wellness is simply caring. You can do that in creative ways, you can do that in systemic ways. However you can do it, do it. Do it often. Do it early, and don't stop.”
READ MORE → Prioritizing Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Mental Health
Prioritize wellness for 911 personnel
Long hours, traumatic calls, and stressful working conditions take a toll on 911 operators’ mental and physical health. But as agencies emerge from years of chronic understaffing, 911 leaders are embracing modern tech to streamline workflows, reduce information overload, and uncover data-backed wellness solutions.
Peregrine, a data integration and analytics solution, makes 911 operators’ jobs easier by ingesting historical data and real-time insights from disparate sources, unifying them in a single search, and delivering key insights in seconds. Peregrine also leverages internal data to help optimize workload distribution, identify performance gaps, and flag operators who need support.
To learn more about how data and AI inform proactive wellness solutions, watch the full virtual roundtable.
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