The Quiet Ones Deserve a Voice: Rethinking Fairness in the Dispatch Center

Not every dispatcher yells to be heard. Some just need someone to listen.

Walk into any dispatch center, and you’ll notice it right away—we're a patchwork of personalities.

There’s the loud one, the storyteller, the jokester.
There’s the one who walks in like they run the place.
There’s the assertive one who speaks up first, every time.
And then…
There are the quiet ones.
The calm ones.
The “go with the flow” types who often stay in the background—not because they don’t care, but because they’re used to making room for everyone else.

But here’s the hard truth:

In the culture of dispatch, we’re often rewarding volume over value.
And it’s time to change that.

📞 When Quiet Turns into Invisible

In many centers, a pattern develops:

• The dispatcher who complains the loudest gets the better chair.

• The one who demands a certain shift gets it—because “it’s just easier to give it to them.”

• The dispatcher who always needs a break first gets it—while someone else “won’t mind waiting.”

That someone else is often the quiet dispatcher.
The one who doesn’t want to rock the boat.
The one who says “I’m good” even when they’re not—because they don’t want to be a burden.
The one who shows up, does their job, and never asks for special treatment.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve fair treatment.

⚖️ Fairness Isn’t About Who Speaks First—It’s About Who’s Often Forgotten

Let’s talk about dispatcher equity, not just equality.

Equality says: “Everyone gets the same.”
Equity says: “Let’s make sure those who are usually overlooked are considered first.”

The “go with the flow” dispatcher has been flowing for years—into tough shifts, bad chairs, skipped breaks, and last-minute sacrifices—all in the name of keeping the peace.

But who’s keeping the peace for them?

🚦To Leaders, Schedulers, and Teammates:

Here’s the shift we need:

Think of the quiet ones first.

• Don’t assume “they don’t mind.” Ask.

• Don’t sacrifice their comfort to appease someone louder.

• Don’t let peacekeeping turn into people-pleasing—at someone else's expense.

Being quiet isn’t the same as being passive. It’s often a trauma-informed response, a desire to avoid conflict, or just a different way of existing in high-stimulation environments.

These dispatchers are not weak. They are not less invested.
They are often your most emotionally aware, deeply committed team members.
But when you keep overlooking them, they burn out—and they leave.

And we lose the steady heartbeat of the room.

💬 To the Quiet Dispatcher Reading This:

I see you.
You’ve taken late calls, long shifts, and the short end of the stick more times than you can count.
You’ve kept your head down and your standards high.
You’ve let others go first—for chairs, for breaks, for preferences.
But your needs matter too.

You are not invisible.
And you don’t have to be loud to be worthy of space.

💡 What Dispatch Centers Can Do Today:

1. Build check-in culture

Create structured opportunities to ask everyone about preferences—breaks, shifts, equipment, etc.—not just those who speak up.

2. Review assignments anonymously

Look for patterns in who gets what. If it's always the same people benefiting, ask why.

3. Empower supervisors to protect the quiet

Make space for fairness, not just ease. Conflict avoidance should not come at the cost of one person’s burnout.

4. Model balance, not volume

Loud doesn’t mean right. Quiet doesn’t mean wrong. Every voice has value.

🐾 A Final Word from Nugget the Skunk

Hey. It’s me again.

I see my quiet humans.
You’re the ones who pet me gently, speak softly, and carry so much without asking for much in return.

This year, I hope someone thinks of you first.
Because fair isn’t giving in to the loudest person in the room—it’s noticing the ones who’ve stayed silent for far too long.

Let’s build a dispatch culture where everyone—loud, quiet, and in between—gets the support they deserve.

Starting with you.