How to Help the ‘Never Enough Officer’

One big mistake I made in my police career, was when I followed another officer’s hunger for more money. He convinced several of us to leave our agency and go to a “better” one, where we could all make MORE money… What a HUGE mistake!

The big lesson…

Every agency has the never enough officer, who is always complaining about never having enough.

Any of these sound familiar? 

1. Never enough money
2. Never enough overtime or off-duty jobs
3. Never get the new equipment
4. Never get the good patrol car
5. Never get the promotion I deserve

Chase Money → Earn Money → Spend Money → Repeat!

When we ask students in our classes how much time is wasted on negative banter, a typical response is 50%. Wow, half of the day is spent listening to the toxic never enough officer. This can be harmful to coworkers, your agency, and the community. 

The law of attraction state, “Like attracts Like.” That means just one negative employee can influence other employees, if allowed to continue inside the agency. If you allow the naysayers to continue their negative banter, (like complaining), it brings in more to complain about.

“Be grateful for what you have and stop complaining! It bores everybody, does you no good, and doesn’t solve your problems.” ~Zig Ziglar

The never enough officer has a glass-half-full attitude and tends to complain about everything and everyone. Their negative energy can influence coworkers, the agency, and the community.

Negative Traits of the Never Enough Officer

1. Entitlement and thoughts of “It’s about me!”
2. Ramps Up Calls just because they feel like it
3. Crab-Bucket Mentality pulls others down with them
4. Ticking Time-Bomb Officer just about to explode on themselves or others. 
5. Get Blocked-Out on calls. Need someone else to intervene. 

The never enough officer can quickly face a down-ward spiral in mental health and wellness due to being unaware of their own demise. 

Mental Health and Wellness Issues:

1. Health Diminishes – lack of physical care and exercise
2. No Core Values – Loses what is important
3. Family and Relationship Disconnection – can’t communicate
4. Mental Depression (PTSD) – Failure to address stress
5. Addiction and Self-Medication
6. Financial Turmoil – Poor financial decisions
7. Suicide may be the only way out

One of the biggest mistakes an agency can make, is ignoring the never enough officer. Avoiding the toxic employee instead of addressing or helping them, is just encouraging more bad behavior.

The problem is one toxic officer can spoil the whole agency if ignored. They can….

1. Influence other good employees to leave your agency
2. Expose the agency to bad press and lawsuits
3. Hurt others and add distrust in the community

4 Steps to helping the never enough officer

1. Provide a strong departmental mental health and wellness program inside the agency.  (Peer Support Group)
2. Build a professional workplace culture saying, ‘we care about you’, and address ‘toxic behavior’ 
3. Give Training and Tools like RITE, giving every officer the Awareness to negative behavior.
4. Encourage a ‘whole agency’ approach, with accountability partners, and mentorship programs.

We are not born as a never enough officer, this happens over the span of an officer’s career. If we experience negative situations over and over, we find more hate, anger, and blame in our life. This is a learned behavior where bad things have happened over time.

(4) Keys to Positive Awareness for Change

1. Awareness of Emotions – Know what you are feeling and think before you put others down
2. Stop and Think – Take a breath – release your negative thoughts, emotions, and complaints
3. Care Enough to Change – Take steps toward changing negative behavior. Find Your Joy.
4. Practice, Practice, Practice  for 21 days to change and build a positive environment. 

Remember, money is not the goal. It’s a tool to achieve our life goals, and is a result of success.

About RITE

RITE Training helps Officer’s improve communication that betters officer mental health and wellness. When you learn to control your emotions, you learn to control every situation, and help others in need. Contact us on how to bring RITE to your agency.

Next Open Trainer’s Class – Orlando, FL

RITE Emotional Response 2-Day Train-the-TRAINER CLASS (Orlando)