When the Job Becomes Our Identity

The life of a firefighter often revolves around the firehouse. Long shifts, extensive trainings, dependence upon one another on the job, and the often difficult conditions that characterize being a firefighter translate into strong connections and a strong personal identity. Like all things about the job, there are risks and rewards that come with letting the job become an identify. Awareness means you have the option to choose what works best for you.

Strong Identity = Strong on the Job

It’s good to be a firefighter. There is a strong sense of belonging among people in a house. Lifelong friendships are often forged both on the scene of a fire or other emergency call and in the house. People get together in off hours to watch the game, celebrate milestone events like birthdays and anniversaries, and hang out. Their families become close, and if a brother or sister should fall in the line of duty or otherwise face hardship, there is a group of people there — an extended family — to support the family and each other.

There is nothing wrong with the sense of camaraderie and kinship. In fact, it can improve your performance on the job, increase your sense of satisfaction in life in general, and contribute to your overall sense of wellbeing. You may be more inclined to take part in trainings, maintain your health, and go above and beyond to lend a helping hand to others who will be there, in turn, to do the same for you. A strong community and sense of self are critical pieces of the puzzle when it comes to building the life you want for yourself and your family.

Risks

As with any good thing, too much does not usually translate into more positive effects. Rather, becoming too absorbed in the firehouse and too wrapped up in your identity as a firefighter can lead to potentially significant issues for you and your family at home as well as your family in the house. Some potential problems with becoming too absorbed by your identity as a firefighter include:

• Family neglect: It’s not always easy to be married to a firefighter. If you are solely focused on the job, you may not be giving enough attention to the people at home who need you.
• High stress: In order to be at your best on the job, you have to regularly unplug from the firehouse and de-stress. This can mean taking a few days off every few months, playing a sport, working with a personal trainer, taking yoga classes, or otherwise focusing on relaxation and positive coping mechanisms.
• Dissatisfaction: Losing someone in the house to a fire or illness is never easy and will always take time to process. In addition, it’s tough to deal with some of the difficulties on the job on a daily basis. Addressing those issues will be far more of a struggle and take much longer if your entire identity is wrapped up in the firehouse with no other outlet. You need to have other things in your life — important things — to remind you why you take the risks that you do on the job.

What do you see as the risks and rewards of being a firefighter? Do you find that identifying heavily with the job is a help or a hindrance?

This article was originally published by Michael Healy, Fire Chief, Central Nyack Fire Dept, NY and Treatment Consultant for Fire Service at American Addiction Centers, on LinkedIn.