Adam Capotorto
Staff Writer
We’ve all been guilty of slacking off on the job at least once.
It is fairly common to disappear for fifteen to thirty minutes to look at your phone and catch up on social media.
Or to find a nice place to kick your feet up and ignore the responsibilities you have.
I’ve done it. You’ve done it. We’ve all done it.
The thing is, most of us don’t have jobs that require too much vigilance.
Retail work and customer service-oriented jobs aren’t exactly ones that require great attention.
But what does require great attention is security work.
And ESU’s night security isn’t getting high praise for their awareness.
Allegedly, the night security here on campus isn’t doing much of anything except hang out in the lounges.
Now, I’m sure there are security guards that are on top of their duties at the late hours, and I commend them.
However, if there’s so much buzz about guards making their jobs a secondary priority, something has to be wrong.
I get it. It’s late at night and there probably isn’t anything going on (at least if it’s not a weekend) and there doesn’t really seem to be a reason to be patrolling the buildings.
So, what’s the harm in sitting down for a little bit?
The answer to that is that there is a lot of harm in it.
As a security guard, you’re not only supposed to ensure that threats are stopped if they arise in certain areas but your presence is supposed to deter them from ever happening in the first place.
Security guards present an image.
The image is that whatever building they are seen in or around is safe and protected, but this only works if the guard is playing the part.
If they are seen sitting in the lounges and blowing off their duties, that image is destroyed.
Not only for the residents but for those who wish to disrupt the peace as well.
A building whose security guards are slacking off suddenly seems like a much easier place to get away with no good, regardless of the amount of them in the building.
A security guard is dealing with other people’s safety, and that alone means that every moment of the job has to be taken seriously.
Disaster waits for no man and it certainly doesn’t abide by a clock.
It could be 3 am on a Tuesday or the afternoon of a Saturday, threats do not abide by a schedule.
A person’s safety can be compromised at any given time, and that time could be the exact moment a guard decides it would be okay to take a break for a few minutes.
We can all sympathize with taking a few moments to yourself.
But, when you’re job is dedicated to keeping the peace then that means that the only time you can have a break is when you’re off the clock.
In some jobs, you can get away with shirking work. Security isn’t one of them.
Email Adam at:
acapotorto@live.esu.edu
