• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
      Leaders — the good, the bad and the horrible
      How not to fail as an outside chief
      Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
      Go that extra mile with a smile
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
        Leaders — the good, the bad and the horrible
        How not to fail as an outside chief
        Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
        Go that extra mile with a smile
    • Editor’s Picks
      • Off duty, but never off guard
        The tyranny of memories
        Meeting training needs on a limited budget
        Empowering through experience
        Getting ahead of the story
    • On the Job
      • Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
        Policing and fatherhood
        2025 Top Cops
        What’s with all the gear?
        Reckless elegance
    • Labor
      • Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
        Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
        Port Authority Police Department welcomes 71 new officers
        The P.D. that wouldn’t go away
        Critical incidents and waiting woosah
    • Tech
      • How local police departments can combat cybercrime
        Your website is your front desk
        Telegram investigations
        Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
        A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
    • Training
      • Blind spots
        LPVOs are the next evolution of the patrol rifle
        Training vs. practice: Improve or maintain?
        Off duty, but never off guard
        Meeting training needs on a limited budget
    • Policy
      • Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug smuggling
        Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
        Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
        Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
        Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
    • Health/Wellness
      • “Hold my beer”
        When empathy backfires
        Navigating retirement
        Keeping work at work and home at home
        Avoiding the road to burnout
    • Community
      • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread...
        Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property...
        San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
        Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
        Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
    • Offbeat
      • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
        Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
    • We Remember
      • National Police Week 2025
        Honoring Fallen Heroes
        What’s with the white chairs?
        The pain and sorrow of loss
        A cop and his car
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
      Policing and fatherhood
      2025 Top Cops
      What’s with all the gear?
      Reckless elegance
  • Labor
    • Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
      Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
      Port Authority Police Department welcomes 71 new officers
      The P.D. that wouldn’t go away
      Critical incidents and waiting woosah
  • Tech
    • How local police departments can combat cybercrime
      Your website is your front desk
      Telegram investigations
      Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
      A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
  • Training
    • Blind spots
      LPVOs are the next evolution of the patrol rifle
      Training vs. practice: Improve or maintain?
      Off duty, but never off guard
      Meeting training needs on a limited budget
  • Policy
    • Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug smuggling
      Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
      Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
      Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
      Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
  • Health/Wellness
    • “Hold my beer”
      When empathy backfires
      Navigating retirement
      Keeping work at work and home at home
      Avoiding the road to burnout
  • Community
    • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread...
      Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property...
      San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
      Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
      Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
  • Offbeat
    • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
      Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
  • We Remember
    • National Police Week 2025
      Honoring Fallen Heroes
      What’s with the white chairs?
      The pain and sorrow of loss
      A cop and his car
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

Training

The art of happiness at work

Now more than ever: a three-step approach for cops everywhere

Dave Edmonds Published December 28, 2020 @ 5:25 am PST

The author in 2008, looking for some elusive joy in his LE admin/carpet-cop job (Dave Edmonds)

“Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions.”— Dalai Lama

As patrol captain, I kept a small, rainbow-colored statue of the word “joy” on my desk. The reason was so that when one of my deputies stopped by, they might be struck by the oddness of it and walk away with something to think about. You see, cops never use the word — especially not the rainbow-colored version of it — let alone admit to pursuing it. What about you? When’s the last time you used the word “joy” in a sentence? I don’t think that’s necessarily a problem … but it may be the symptom of one.

Happiness at work is so elusive that the Dalai Lama wrote a book about it; that’s where this article got its title. He first wrote the bestseller The Art of Happiness. And the “at work” follow-up book must have been because trying to find happiness in the rigors of work life is more elusive. Especially, I think, in ours.

Whenever I told people what I did for a living, the most common response was, “I wouldn’t want your job.” Many LEOs end up deciding that we don’t want it either. Uniquely, our work has even spawned its own psychology specialty. Hundreds, if not thousands, of police psychologists make a great living either a) unwinding us, or b) winding us back up. Ever heard of a firefighter psychologist? Me neither.

So, on an individual level, how can we in our work lives pursue that “state of happiness” or “emotion evoked by well-being” that defines the word “joy”? Let me offer you a three-step how-to for that. I promise you that if you follow these every day — so much so that they eventually become life habits — you’ll experience more happiness on duty, and it will pour over into your off-duty life, too.

STEP 1: Control your level of emotional investment in your job

“A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.”— Dalai Lama

In order to even have the hope for job contentment, the first thing that cops need to control is their level of emotional investment in their jobs. According to the sheer numbers of cops who get this wrong, the number one source of cop burnout seems to be what I refer to as “noble-cause overinvestment.” This occurs when you are too committed to making things “right” out there on the streets. Whether it’s anger, significant disappointment, depression or more, in response to all the stimuli that bombard your work life, if you frequently feel deeply visceral about the outcomes, then you may have too much of your emotional self invested in your work, and you need to take about three steps back.

Emotional investment in your work is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it can be a good thing. But for that to be true, it must be a wise thing. Get into a biofeedback habit where you constantly monitor your level of emotional investment in situations at work — particularly for negative emotions, but also for positive ones like compassion. At these times, remind yourself that by allowing these emotions to affect you, you are paying out of your limited emotional bank account and it will need to be replenished. Through diligence, build up a habit of asking yourself if the situation you’re in — a domestic violence call, a missing child, a bullying sergeant, a homeless old lady — is worth your emotional investment. Sometimes the answer is “yes,” but oftentimes it is “no.” If the answer is no, gird your emotions. Right then, go into professional/methodical response mode and start emotionally divesting. With time, you can and will make this a habit, and that will protect your ability to pursue job happiness.

You can visualize where you want to be emotionally like Figure I on the next page. With your emotional investment compass set in Step 1, you’ll be ready to take big strides in this elusive happiness-at-work pursuit.

Figure I: from the 360ARMOR LEO Fitness model

STEP 2: Divide everyone into supporters or detractors

“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.”— Dalai Lama

After noble-cause overinvestment, the biggest factor in determining whether you will be happy or unhappy at work is the type of on-duty relationships that you keep. Relationships are complicated things, but here, we’re going to keep things simple. Think about your work relationships: peers, bosses and co-workers inside the office, and then victims, witnesses, involved parties and suspects out on patrol, and beyond. For every person you relate to at work, place them into one of two buckets: supporters or detractors. Supporters are people who like you and have your best interests in mind. They’re people you can trust and, because of that, they can disappoint you if they let you down. Detractors don’t have your best interests in mind, and usually they want something either from you or through you. A detractor is someone you shouldn’t trust — even though in this job we often do — and they shouldn’t even be able to disappoint you.

In order to thrive, human beings need healthy relationships, and we especially need close relationships. Closeness comes through emotional vulnerability, which means you can be hurt. Many cops subconsciously decide they don’t want to be hurt, period, and end up becoming emotionally disconnected from everyone, including their closest loved ones. Then, all hopes of happiness are pretty much lost.

To operationalize Step 2, increase your emotional vulnerability with supporters according to their degree, and likewise, decrease your vulnerability to detractors according to their degree. With detractors, make sure that your transactions stay all business. Far and away, your greatest supporters (and therefore the center of your greatest vulnerability) should be close family and friends.

Visually, the model looks like Figure II below.

Figure II: from the 360ARMOR LEO Fitness model

STEP 3: Pursue the very things that brought you to this job

“It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.”— Dalai Lama

C.S. Lewis pointed out that humans are the only creatures with a moral compass. There is something inside us that tells us, even risking survival, we “ought” to do what is morally right and “ought not” to do things that are morally wrong. It’s why you run toward gunfire. As a species, we are uniquely hard-wired to help each another, and when we do, we’re fulfilled. Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore put it this way: “I slept and dreamt life was joy. I awoke and saw this life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” Helping others is a key to happiness.

Every cop I’ve ever known at least started out as an altruistic person. Altruism, the belief in selfless concern for the well-being of others, is one of the most noble character traits in humanity. But this job of ours can sure beat the hell out of it. Both inside and outside the walls of our agencies and departments, we see so many messed-up things that we can lose all hope. Then, the job morphs into an emotional dead-end. All of our relationships suffer, and we end up only working to pay the bills.

But just for a moment, think of all the other jobs out there, and compare them to our opportunities to bring goodness and hope to others in need. Even with all of the bullshit that’s going on in law enforcement right now, on virtually every shift that you work, there will be some deserving soul who can really benefit from your positional power in your community. That’s Step 3. Because we’re wired to find contentment, meaning and happiness through helping others in need, you could say that doing these other-centered things — those very things that brought you to this career — is actually self-serving. Once your emotional response to this job and to others is wisely divined, helping others who deserve it brings happiness.

So, there you have it, on-the-job happiness in three steps: Control your emotional investment in this job, manage your emotional vulnerability with others, and BOL for deserving people and then come to their rescue. Make these things habits and you’ll see, eventually they will turn into character and you’ll find happiness at work.

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”— Dalai Lama

Dave Edmonds

Dave Edmonds

Dave Edmonds is APB’s contributing editor. A retired Sonoma County Sheriff’s captain, his 34 years include SWAT, FTO, sex crimes, homicide, polygraph, internal affairs, union president and more. Married 38 years with two cop sons and a schoolteacher daughter, he likes iron, cycling, racquetball and Gonzaga (M.A. org. leadership). He’s volunteered 3,000-plus hours to nonprofits. Dave makes cool smoking pipes (www.publicsafetypipes.com). Thrive on his challenging LEO life program,  www.360armor.org/guidebook. Contact Dave at (707) 490-9010 or dedmonds@apbweb.com.

View articles by Dave Edmonds

As seen in the December 2020 issue of American Police Beat magazine.
Don’t miss out on another issue today! Click below:

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Categories: Training

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • “Hold my beer”
  • NLEOMF’s 2025 Mid-Year Law Enforcement Fatalities Report reveals law enforcement deaths have decreased by more than 50% over last year
  • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
  • Blind spots
  • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread across nation
  • Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property regulators
  • When empathy backfires
  • 2025 Mid-Year Law Enforcement Officers Fatality Report
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Announces May 2025 Officer of the Month
  • Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police recruits in effort to boost hiring

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

Off duty, but never off guard

Off duty, but never off guard

May 05, 2025

The tyranny of memories

The tyranny of memories

May 04, 2025

Meeting training needs on a limited budget

Meeting training needs on a limited budget

May 02, 2025

Empowering through experience

Empowering through experience

April 18, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.