High stress levels can cause job fatigue on the clock

CLAY/OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Stress. Anger. Anxiety. Sooner or later, many people have experienced one of these challenges on the job.

No matter how much you love being a teacher or a social worker or a lineman, some days are just too much. And for many of our first responders, the stress can really add up.

For paramedics and law officers, nurses and firefighters – there’s no such thing as a 9-5 job.

And while the work differs, the workers seem to have one thing in common – job fatigue.

Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott works 8-12 hours per day.

“We have court proceedings, our officers have to get up and get back to court, arraignments so they very easily can get to a point where there’s a lot of physical stress. It wears on the body and affects their performance. And on top of that as sheriffs and chiefs we have to watch for the mental side of it too,” said Sheriff Scott.

His department makes sure that deputies have services available to them. This includes counselors, ministers, and medical services.

Sheriff Scott said the long hours, long nights, and even the paperwork can take a toll.

“We’ve all been there, I’ve had the burnout sensation and you just got a find ways to cope with it deal with it. Whether that’s talking to somebody or taking a quick break, go fishing for a couple of hours and just kinda, you know, release your mind. The stress level is very high on these jobs,” Sheriff Scott.

In Oktibbeha County, EMS Director and Coroner Michael Hunt said even on off days, he’s still on the clock.

“Typically I don’t have a Monday through Friday job, it’s every day at all hours of the night. Just depends on what our workload is here. We deal with life and death 24 hours a day so it’s very mentally challenging and how we deal with that,” said Hunt.

Hunt said he is always on-call as the coroner and at the hospital. It’s a balancing act.

Since Hunt knows the challenges of the medical field, he gives his staff members a day off when the pressures of the job are apparent.

If you work long shifts at your job, let us know. You can join the conversation on our Facebook page.