Latest / The Refrigeration Mentor Podcast / Episode 264: Managing Common Stressors in Refrigeration

Transcript

Episode 264: Managing Common Stressors in Refrigeration · The Refrigeration Mentor Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 2: I want to dive into some stressors in our industry and how that Impact us as a technician as well as how does that impact us at home? And this is very important.
• 0:00
  We want to have what a lot of people call work life balance, but that's different for everyone And depends on where you're at and what stage of your life, you could be wanting to work all the time to make a lot of money. You could be in a part of your life where you're with your family, you want to spend time with them, you want camping, whatever.
• 0:00
  And some people like to work and some people don't like to work. And that's just, just the way it is. And it doesn't matter if it's in refrigeration or any career or that. But you got to figure out what is going to help you take that action. And we're going to dive into some of the stressors and things to do that you can maybe overcome some of that stuff by maybe thinking differently, doing different things.
• 0:00
  But it's a big thing in our industry. It's like one of them is the on call responsibility. This really like disrupts your personal time it can be unpredictable getting up in the middle of the night, getting up on the weekend, but this is part of our role and this can add a stressor layer to us as a technician.
• 0:01
  But it's a big thing in our industry. It's like one of them is the on call responsibility. This really like disrupts your personal time it can be unpredictable getting up in the middle of the night, getting up on the weekend, but this is part of our role and this can add a stressor layer to us as a technician.
• 0:01
  So what do we do? What can you do? I think one of the biggest things is get your technical skills up so when you get out there you can solve that problem quickly and efficiently until the next day. So until somebody else can go do that service call or you can fix it at that point. This is a strategy that will definitely help you on call because if you have the confidence, you have the technical knowledge.
• 0:01
  Getting up at, you know, one o'clock, two o'clock in the morning, get into a site, sorting out that problem, coming back home and getting some shut eye to get up for your day is a lot easier and less stressful when you know what you're doing. So that comes back to education and then those on calls will be a lot easier.
• 0:02
  Getting up at, you know, one o'clock, two o'clock in the morning, get into a site, sorting out that problem, coming back home and getting some shut eye to get up for your day is a lot easier and less stressful when you know what you're doing. So that comes back to education and then those on calls will be a lot easier.
• 0:02
  And some of them you may be able to, you may not even have to go if you know how to dial up and look at trend graphs. So this comes back to really understanding. The technical side of refrigeration and then I really believe that on call will not be as difficult. I knew as I got better and better and I could troubleshoot better on call.
• 0:02
  Wasn't as difficult and it wasn't as stressful because I knew I had to take the week on call. It was scheduled. I planned it but the biggest thing is that you got to have that, those skills to be able to confidently finish those calls. So you've reduced that, that stress. It is, does affect your, your mental health.
• 0:02
  If you're on call all the time, for sure. And if you're in a small company, you may be on call every second week, which is really difficult. But I, I had a, I was doing a session last week or this week. And one of the technicians says, you know, I'm on call every, every third week, but with Trevor, we have this many stores, but I don't have that many calls.
• 0:03
  If you're on call all the time, for sure. And if you're in a small company, you may be on call every second week, which is really difficult. But I, I had a, I was doing a session last week or this week. And one of the technicians says, you know, I'm on call every, every third week, but with Trevor, we have this many stores, but I don't have that many calls.
• 0:03
  Like when I'm on call, I might get a couple of calls a week. It's not like I'm, going from all night, every night. And that does happen in the summertime when everyone's busy, it could happen. But a lot of times when you're on call, you don't get. As many calls as you think you're going to get but once again, as you get more experience as a technician, you understand, like if you worked all night. As a service technician, you don't have to get up at eight o'clock in the morning.
• 0:03
  You let dispatch know that I'm going to be in at noon and or whatever time to get some sleep. And that's it, building that relationship now, they understand that, and maybe there's some that don't understand that, but you build that relationship with them and then get them to understand what your on call looks like, because if you started at 9pm and you go to 6pm And you're supposed to say, yeah, a shift at 8 a.
• 0:04
  You let dispatch know that I'm going to be in at noon and or whatever time to get some sleep. And that's it, building that relationship now, they understand that, and maybe there's some that don't understand that, but you build that relationship with them and then get them to understand what your on call looks like, because if you started at 9pm and you go to 6pm And you're supposed to say, yeah, a shift at 8 a.
• 0:04
  m. Most companies don't want you, there's a limit on the amount of hours you work in a day, most, not all companies, but a lot of them, cause they know you're less productive after, you know, 14 or 16 hours. Some don't even let you go that long. Some let you go longer. And this is a decision that you need to make.
• 0:04
  And if you want to just do 80 hours a week every week, well, that's, that is up to you as well. You, you do, you can say no, you can't. So I think that's, that's a big stressor for a lot of people. It was for me, the on call, but I learned how to manage it. I learned how to, my strategies for on call over time.
• 0:04
  And I learned how to deal with it. So when I first started taking it in the first few years, I was always stressed out, but after I learned the technical skills, after I learned how to understand on call, it was so much easier. It was just, it was just part of my role. Just part of my role. Another one for stressors on, on us in the industry, I think it's workload management.
• 0:05
  And I learned how to deal with it. So when I first started taking it in the first few years, I was always stressed out, but after I learned the technical skills, after I learned how to understand on call, it was so much easier. It was just, it was just part of my role. Just part of my role. Another one for stressors on, on us in the industry, I think it's workload management.
• 0:05
  I think we can get heavy workloads and, you know, we can feel like we're starting to burn out because it's nonstop and we're always feeling like putting fires out, but I think that's. I think that's the thing. If we're not prioritizing tasks, if we don't have people dispatching out properly, if we don't have effective service managers, it's going to be a lot tougher and a good team.
• 0:05
  Because if you have a good team, you can understand how to split up the workload. Who needs to go where and when how you help each other, back each other up to get jobs done in a day. Oh, it's two o'clock. Okay. It's time for me to go home. No, no. Why don't I go over and help this person get them out of jam so they can get home at the same time instead of dropping your tools off at one 30 or two o'clock and heading home.
• 0:05
  This is how you can help a team make it easier on each other. And over time. Stores will get better. They'll get more efficient, more effective. And as you guys work together, collaborate together, and you prioritize tasks, I really believe this will relieve stress on the team. You guys have to work as a team because you're, some of you are working on the exact same stores.
• 0:06
  This is how you can help a team make it easier on each other. And over time. Stores will get better. They'll get more efficient, more effective. And as you guys work together, collaborate together, and you prioritize tasks, I really believe this will relieve stress on the team. You guys have to work as a team because you're, some of you are working on the exact same stores.
• 0:06
  Now, if you're not working as a team, one, one person's going in there and making some changes, another person goes and make more changes. And the other person goes make different changes. And then the store is all messed up. So if you don't work as a team it's going to take you longer or it's going to be harder to, to reduce that workload because you're really working against each other.
• 0:06
  You want to work together and this is building relationships with your service manager and with dispatch to get a better understanding on how you can reduce those, you know, put no fires all the time. And it can be done, but it's, I honestly, it's working more as a team and that'll help the workload because if you've got five calls in a day and you can't make it to two calls, can you help someone else?
• 0:06
  Can someone else come and help you out and vice versa when they're stuck like that? So this is the way to think a little bit differently, working with your team. Well, you have a light load today. Can you help me out with this? And then vice versa when that comes up. So I think that'll help with You know, a stressor because it is, there is a lot to do for us in the field and then outside the field, like building those relationships and getting into training and all, all those things that you need to do on top of your work.
• 0:07
  Can someone else come and help you out and vice versa when they're stuck like that? So this is the way to think a little bit differently, working with your team. Well, you have a light load today. Can you help me out with this? And then vice versa when that comes up. So I think that'll help with You know, a stressor because it is, there is a lot to do for us in the field and then outside the field, like building those relationships and getting into training and all, all those things that you need to do on top of your work.
• 0:07
  Another one is, you know, the effects on your personal relationships, your friends and your family. I think that's another big one that in a lot of different industries, not only ours, I think it's a lot of industries. Like I was on the plane having a conversation with a pretty cool guy. He's not even in our industry.
• 0:07
  And what he does, he travels all the time. He travels more than, than. Me travels more than you you guys, you know, you got on call and you got weekend work But he's gone four or five days a week traveling away from his kids and his family to do business work So he's flying to different places and he's in different meetings And he's away so we we may feel like we're away way a lot there's other people that are away even more and then people will be like, oh, well, they like doing that.
• 0:08
  And what he does, he travels all the time. He travels more than, than. Me travels more than you you guys, you know, you got on call and you got weekend work But he's gone four or five days a week traveling away from his kids and his family to do business work So he's flying to different places and he's in different meetings And he's away so we we may feel like we're away way a lot there's other people that are away even more and then people will be like, oh, well, they like doing that.
• 0:08
  That's different. That's no no different. It's just the way he thinks he's like, this is the part of my role This is what I gotta do and I gotta get this stuff done, you know, so this it's like we do have Responsibilities and some of our responsibilities is to go out and do our job and to take those on calls But you cannot neglect You Your, your family, you have to be having the conversations with them.
• 0:08
  You gotta have a conversation with your spouse and let them know, like, this is a part of my role. I do have to get up in the middle of the night sometimes. I'm gonna do my best not to wake everybody up. I want to, I want to make sure that, you know, I provide for my family. This is a career, this is life, but you have to build it with your family and with your friends so they understand.
• 0:08
  Cause a lot of them don't. I was having a conversation with a technician this week. He's like, you know, my family's asking me, why do I do this? Why, why do I get up in the middle of the night? Why do I go in and work 12 hours a day? They don't understand. Why don't you quit that and go do a nine to five job?
• 0:09
  Cause a lot of them don't. I was having a conversation with a technician this week. He's like, you know, my family's asking me, why do I do this? Why, why do I get up in the middle of the night? Why do I go in and work 12 hours a day? They don't understand. Why don't you quit that and go do a nine to five job?
• 0:09
  They don't understand the benefits. And, and he's, they said, they see their family struggling financially. He's not he's going to sporting events, taking his kids camping, doing this with these kids because he can't. Because of refrigeration and the amount of money that we can make. And when he needs to make more money, he can go take more on calls.
• 0:09
  And you can do longer shifts and, and, and do more calls. And this is the thing people don't understand. They're just looking from the outside. Oh, you're always working all the time, but I want to work. I want to get my kids through college and university or trade school, whatever it is, I wanted to help build their career in their life.
• 0:09
  I want to have better things for them than I had. And this is what refrigeration can do. So. You really want to make sure you have those conversations with your, your family, with your kids, with your, and help them understand when you're, you're, you're gone, or you're not there in the morning for breakfast, or you can't make it home for dinner.
• 0:10
  I want to have better things for them than I had. And this is what refrigeration can do. So. You really want to make sure you have those conversations with your, your family, with your kids, with your, and help them understand when you're, you're, you're gone, or you're not there in the morning for breakfast, or you can't make it home for dinner.
• 0:10
  They understand that you're out there working to help support the family and, and talk to them about it. And, and while you're doing it and get them involved, help them understand of your, you know, your hectic schedules and and, and really, I think another thing would be setting some boundaries.
• 0:10
  Setting some boundaries with, with work, you know, if, if you do work all, all night be like, okay, I'm not coming in until noon. Like I said earlier, in that workload management topic, I think there's a lot of other things that can really affect us in the industry that can stress us out. It's lack of knowledge is another one that, that puts a stress on a lot of people in the industry.
• 0:10
  Thank you. Because if you don't feel confident or you don't know what you're doing, it's going to take a lot longer to do that job. And I've been there before where I'm on a site and I just don't know what I'm doing and I'm wasting time and just. I'm trying to make things up as I go and didn't have a process, didn't have a sequence of how to troubleshoot a system, because if it's the first time you work on, work on a system, it's like, where do I start?
• 0:11
  Thank you. Because if you don't feel confident or you don't know what you're doing, it's going to take a lot longer to do that job. And I've been there before where I'm on a site and I just don't know what I'm doing and I'm wasting time and just. I'm trying to make things up as I go and didn't have a process, didn't have a sequence of how to troubleshoot a system, because if it's the first time you work on, work on a system, it's like, where do I start?
• 0:11
  You know, how do I work on this? And so that knowledge piece is a thing that could put a big stressor on you. I've seen many times walking into a rack room and I didn't have a clue what I was doing when I started out. Like, where do I even start? And I think if you can really build that, that knowledge, it's going to help you get to your next level.
• 0:11
  Like it's continuous learning. This is why I do all the trainings that I do for CO2 and supermarket and advanced compressor courses, engineering courses, personal development courses. I do all these courses is to help people grow so that they can feel more confident. They don't feel as stressed. They can make more money because that could be it there.
• 0:12
  Like it's continuous learning. This is why I do all the trainings that I do for CO2 and supermarket and advanced compressor courses, engineering courses, personal development courses. I do all these courses is to help people grow so that they can feel more confident. They don't feel as stressed. They can make more money because that could be it there.
• 0:12
  You can make more money if you have, you have that knowledge and you have that skillset and it really benefits you and your family. That, that is a definite thing. That I'm, you know, that I'm working for to help all of you to be able to overcome adversity to really push through sometimes and really get to where you want to be in your life and career.