The Public Service Industry Can’t Find Anyone to Do the Job
Why military, police, fire, and EMS recruiters are having such a hard time hiring quality candidates.
Last year, the US Army missed its annual recruiting goal by 15,000 prospective soldiers, which translated into coming up short by 25 percent1.
Law enforcement across the nation has seen a staffing shortage devolve into a staffing crisis since the riots and protests that rocked the nation in 20202. Despite some cities promising signing bonuses or company cars or even a supportive community3, many police agencies are struggling to hire and retain officers.
Medics4 and Firefighters5 have seen recruiting droughts in their professions as well.
The population has only grown over time, and the demand for public service jobs has only increased as a result. If demand is up, then where is the supply to meet it? The private sector has seen a contraction in its candidate pool, but not to the same degree as the public sector6.
While reasons specific to policing have been established at this point, I’ve identified three issues that, I believe, affect the entire public service industry.
The New Generation Doesn’t Know What Authority Is
There’s a significant difference between disrespecting authority and having no concept of what authority is in the first place.
Gen Xers and Millennials who grew up in the eighties, nineties, and early aughts understand the youthful impulse to question authority. And that’s a good thing. It’s vital for the youth of America to question and ultimately understand the role of legitimate authority figures in society.
The trouble derives from the fact that the latest generation of Americans has grown up without learning the concept of authority at all. Parents have increasingly relinquished their role as authority figures7, often delegating that task to educational institutions.
The trouble only compounds there. The sociocultural environment in America has created an educational system that shies away from disciplining youth8. Out of an abundance of legal caution, educational institutions tend to, ironically, avoid providing the discipline necessary to function as educational institutions9.
If children won’t receive discipline from an authority figure in the home and can’t receive discipline from an authority figure outside the home, they won’t be exposed to the concept of legitimate authority at all. They won’t have the opportunity to develop a healthy disrespect for that authority, which is the first step for many in understanding its value to society.
The authority enjoyed by parents over their children, and teachers over their students, is the bedrock upon which societal institutions like the military and the police can exist. Without that bedrock, those institutions are withering away.
If the latest generation has little or no concept of legitimate authority, then we can’t reasonably expect them to take up jobs in institutions built upon that very concept.
A Steady Career Isn’t Seen as a Selling Point Anymore
Public sector work may not be glamorous, but it is stable. Raises and bonuses may not be as high or as frequent as they are in the private sector, but they typically come in a reliable and regimented fashion.
Retirement benefits and pensions are big draws for people who want a guaranteed fixed income when they reach retirement age. All of that should make for a strong selling point for a career in first responder communities like police, fire, and EMS. So, why the reduced recruiting numbers in today’s job environment?
The sociocultural pressure to create and raise a family has been steadily eroding in the popular culture of America10. With the lack of pressure to create the next generation, there’s a simultaneous lack of pressure to settle down with a steady job to provide for it.
If a major recruiting pitch for the public service industry is a steady paycheck with good benefits, it’s easy to see why the candidate pool for these professions is drying up in an age when family planning isn’t a priority11.
Prioritizing the Self Means Everyone Else is Secondary
Taking a job in the public service industry requires one to acknowledge they are doing it to serve others. But a constant focus on the individual makes it difficult, if not impossible, to focus on the collective benefit public service provides.
Rather than maintaining simple individualistic ideals, American culture has become hyper-individualized12, which inevitably leads to hyper-selfish outcomes. President John F. Kennedy’s famous quote, “ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country” can be appropriately contrasted with the cultural trend we now face.
If our society can’t embrace the basic sentiment of service above self, then we shouldn’t be surprised to see a lack of enthusiasm for contributing to the public good by joining the military or other public service professions.
How Do We Fix This?
If we can’t get fresh recruits to join the military and first responder communities, we’ll only see staffing shortages increase. To fight this trend, it’s necessary that we take certain steps.
We have to empower parents and teachers to instill discipline in our youth. Without exposing our youth to legitimate authority, we rob them of the vital first step to respecting it: questioning it.
We have to impart upon our youth the important lesson that creating and raising a family is not only fulfilling, but ultimately necessary for the preservation of a thriving future. Without establishing the importance of contributing to the next generation that will inherit this world, we can’t expect genuine forward thinking from the upcoming generation.
We have to re-prioritize a sense of community in our culture. Without adhering to the age-old adage, “it takes a village to raise a family”, we’ll likely never find the healthy middle ground between rugged individualism and collective benefit.
If we don’t take control of our culture now, a never-ending cavalcade of cultural fads will control us.
References
1. Baldor, L. C. (2022, September). US Army Misses Recruiting Goal; Other Services Squeak by. Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/health-business-covid-army-government-and-politics-6cae87a2c64b846a79b0b6e9175f1c93
2. PERF. (2023, April). New PERF Survey Shows Police Agencies are Losing Officers Faster than They Can Hire New Ones. Police Executive Research Forum. https://www.policeforum.org/staffing2023
3. Sarabia, S. (2020, September). Outside Police Departments Place Recruitment Ads in Austin Area. Fox 7 Austin. https://www.fox7austin.com/news/outside-police-departments-place-recruitment-ads-in-austin-area
4. Clifton, J. (2023, January). City to Start Major Push to Recruit Employees. Austin Monitor. https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2023/01/city-to-start-major-push-to-recruit-employees/
5. Klink, J. (2021, November). Doing More with Less: Tips for agencies facing staffing shortages. FireRescue1. https://www.firerescue1.com/recruitment/articles/doing-more-with-less-tips-for-agencies-facing-staffing-shortages-dTPUJiOsC7sBwdbM/
6. Koziol, M. (2023, March). Overcoming Worker Shortages in Public Sector Amidst Growing Demand. American City & County. https://www.americancityandcounty.com/2023/03/27/overcoming-worker-shortages-in-public-sector-amidst-growing-demand/
7. Garrett, R. (2022, June). Parents and Lack of Discipline Explain a Lot About Our Substandard Public Education. Elevate Teachers. https://elevateteachers.org/blog/parents-and-lack-of-discipline-explain-a-lot-about-our-substandard-public-education%EF%BF%BC/
8. Adams, J. (2022, August). Lax School Discipline is Bad for Teachers. Thomas B. Fordham Institute. https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/lax-school-discipline-bad-teachers
9. Sawchuk, S. (2021, November). Violence in Schools Seems to be Increasing. Why? Schools Climate & Safety. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/violence-seems-to-be-increasing-in-schools-why/2021/11
10. Brown, A. (2021, November). Growing Share of Childless Adults in U.S. Don’t Expect to Ever Have Children. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/11/19/growing-share-of-childless-adults-in-u-s-dont-expect-to-ever-have-children/
11. Berger, S. (2018, June). Building a career is more of a priority than having kids, say single American women. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/25/study-single-american-women-say-career-is-priority-over-having-kids.html
12. Clausen, D. (2021, June). Is Hyper-individualism Undermining the Social Contract? Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/small-town-usa/202106/is-hyper-individualism-undermining-the-social-contract
A very well thought out and reasoned article. Good job.