Pros
- Things get a little easier once you don’t have to consult for every single call
- Decent benefits
- I do agree when they say this role isn’t for anyone, people may get offended but at least they’re upfront.
- It pays the bills, can always pick up extra if need be, first few weeks no benefits taken out of paycheck was lovely!
- Supervisors & coworkers were cool, depends on the shift though.
- Chext shifts are a God send, but lengthy.
- The likelihood of you getting a call of someone in an active attempt is low. 90% of the time you’re just getting dumped on/screamed at/asked a question that you can’t help them with/EAP calls etc. this is not necessarily a pro but not a con either.
- Simple, repetitive work, easy to master (until they add new accounts)
Cons
- Very little employee appreciation, emails from C suite does not mean anything when you barely see them anyway.
- There’s a baseline of high level of stress you get from this job, even if you are taking care of yourself after work.
- Holidays are terrible. They will schedule you on times you don’t work, don’t even offer double pay nor do they give a holiday bonus! My morale dropped dramatically after this treatment, I’ve worked in MH my whole life I’ve gotten holiday bonuses from working at the shelter at smaller non profits, but not a large for profit?? Again no employee appreciation for the high level of stress you take on, It’s absurd!
- Upper level management constantly prioritizes expanding contracts & these complex accounts burdening employees to take the brunt of it. Its the quickest road to burnout, & truthfully it comes off as money hungry and again that they don’t care about their employees. Don’t forget, they’re actively seeking these contracts out, racking in 8 figures, yet we don’t see an increase in compensation or additional staffing. Offering double time to take on more work does not count.
- Some PIC’s are micromanagers. It’s annoying & as others said contradicting, some will be on you for one thing and others won’t.
- Good luck finding anyone to cover shifts in the regular call taking.
- You can’t log off the call floor until the exact time of the end of your shift, which means you’re at risk of getting a call/text that will keep you over.
- PICS making you dispatch even when there is no address or other identifying information. It is a headache, and often times law enforcement is annoyed with us.
- PTO always denied, it’s sad seeing people email “PTO was denied, my daughter’s birthday/grandpas funeral/etc please cover my shift!” Like management couldn’t care less about important things that you have.
- Callers need true knowledge about what the crisis line is for, they’re always disappointed.
