Working as a security guard comes with high-pressure situations, and sometimes that pressure spills over into tense exchanges with your supervisor. Whether the disagreement is about protocol, a shift decision, or how an incident was handled, knowing how to cool things down professionally can protect both your working relationship and your job.

Stay composed and stand your ground calmly. Security work demands composure under pressure, and that same discipline applies internally. When your manager raises their voice or dismisses your concerns, do not match their energy. Keep your tone steady and your body language neutral. Crossing your arms or stepping forward can escalate things without a single word being spoken.

Pick the right moment to speak. If a disagreement erupts mid-shift, especially during an active situation, it is rarely the time to hash things out. A simple "I hear you. Can we debrief when things settle down?" shows professionalism and buys both of you time to think more clearly. Managers generally respect guards who understand operational priorities.

Lead with the facts. In security, documentation is everything. When making your case, lean on what you observed, what the protocol says, and what was logged. Avoid emotional framing and stick to what actually happened. Saying "According to the incident report..." carries far more weight than "I felt like you were not listening to me."

Acknowledge the chain of command without surrendering your dignity. There is a difference between respecting authority and accepting mistreatment. You can say "I understand you have the final call here, and I also want to make sure my concern is on record." This approach is firm, professional, and protects you if the situation is reviewed later.

Request a formal follow-up if needed. If the conversation ends without resolution, ask for a sit-down meeting rather than letting resentment build. Bring your notes, stay solution focused, and loop in HR if the behavior crosses a line. Advocating for yourself through proper channels is not insubordination. It is professionalism.

The best security guards are known for keeping the peace, and that reputation starts with how you handle conflict from the inside out

Working alongside a security guard who treats routine daily tasks with the dramatic flair of a twelve year old can be exhausting, demoralizing, and genuinely disruptive to an otherwise smooth shift. Whether it is the eye rolling when asked to log a visitor, the loud sighing over patrol rounds, or the petty power plays over who controls the radio, childish behavior in a professional setting demands a thoughtful response.

Stay Calm and Don't Match the Energy

The fastest way to make things worse is to mirror the immaturity. When your coworker grumbles, huffs, or refuses to take a task seriously, meet it with a level, professional tone. A simple "I need this done by end of shift" said calmly carries far more authority than an argument ever will. You cannot control their behavior, but you can control the temperature of every interaction.

Be Specific, Not Personal

Vague complaints rarely land. Instead of saying "You're being so immature," try "When the access log isn't filled out correctly, it creates problems for the whole team." Keeping the conversation focused on tasks and outcomes rather than personality takes the ego out of the equation and makes it harder for them to dismiss you.

Set Quiet Boundaries

If the behavior is disruptive to your ability to do your job, name it plainly and move on. "I'm not going to debate whether this task is necessary. It's part of the job." You are not obligated to manage their emotions or justify standard procedures. State what needs to happen, then disengage from the drama.

Document Patterns That Become Problems

Occasional moodiness is human. A consistent pattern of refusing tasks, undermining protocols, or making the workplace unpleasant for others is a performance issue. Keep brief notes of specific incidents with dates and details. If the behavior escalates or begins affecting safety, which in a security context is a real concern, you will want that record when speaking with a supervisor.

Loop in Leadership When Necessary

Going to a manager is not tattling. If someone is consistently failing to perform basic job functions because they cannot be bothered to act like an adult, that is a legitimate workplace concern. Frame it around impact rather than personality: "Certain tasks aren't getting completed and it's creating gaps in coverage," rather than "He acts like a child."

Know What You Can and Cannot Change

You cannot force someone to grow up. What you can do is protect your own professionalism, keep operations running smoothly, and refuse to let their immaturity become your problem to carry. Some people need a clear, consistent boundary before they adjust. Others require a supervisor's intervention. Either way, your job is to show up with competence and composure regardless of who is standing next to you.

The uniform may be shared, but the work ethic does not have to be.

Body cameras have become one of the most valuable tools in a security professional's arsenal. Yet many guards treat them as an afterthought, clipping them on at the start of a shift without giving much thought to how they work or why they matter. That approach is a missed opportunity and in some cases a serious professional liability.

Your Camera Is Only as Good as Your Knowledge of It

Owning a body cam and knowing how to use one are two very different things. If you do not know how to activate the recording function quickly, how to check battery levels before a shift, how to confirm that footage is actually saving, or how to navigate the device settings, your camera may fail you at the exact moment you need it most. Familiarity with your equipment is not optional. It is part of your preparation.

Footage Protects You

Security guards are frequently placed in situations where their word can be questioned. A resident may dispute how an incident was handled. A visitor may claim you acted inappropriately. A client may receive a complaint about one of their officers. In all of these situations, clear and properly recorded footage is the difference between your account being accepted and your account being challenged without support. A body cam that was not activated, ran out of battery, or recorded at a poor angle because of improper placement does not protect anyone.

Footage Protects the People You Serve

Beyond protecting yourself, your camera creates accountability that benefits everyone on site. When people know they are being recorded, behavior often changes. Potential bad actors are deterred. Disputes between parties have a neutral record to reference. In the event of a serious incident, footage can support investigations, insurance claims, and legal proceedings. Your ability to capture that footage accurately and consistently is a direct contribution to the safety of your environment.

Documentation Is Part of the Job

Security work is not just physical presence. It is documentation, accountability, and the ability to provide an accurate record of events. Your body cam is an extension of your incident report. The two should work together. Understanding how to timestamp footage, how to preserve recordings according to your employer or client protocols, and how to reference specific clips when writing up an incident makes you a more thorough and credible professional.

Training Should Not Stop After Orientation

Many guards receive a brief introduction to their body cam during onboarding and never revisit the topic again. Devices get updated, policies change, and new features are added. Making it a habit to stay current with your equipment, ask questions when protocols shift, and practice using your camera in different scenarios keeps your skills sharp and your documentation reliable.

A body cam is only powerful when the person wearing it knows exactly how to use it. Make that knowledge a priority, and you will be a more prepared, more protected, and more professional security guard.

Memorial Day means something different depending on where you stand. For most Americans, it is a long weekend of barbecues, parades, and a rare Monday off. For a security guard, it is just another shift, and in some ways, a busier one than usual.

If you are working security on Memorial Day, the first thing to accept is that your job does not pause for the holiday. Crowds gather at malls, parks, stadiums, and public memorials, and where crowds gather, your presence matters. Embrace that. You are not missing the holiday so much as you are participating in it from a different angle.

Start your shift early and walk your entire post before the public arrives. Holiday crowds move differently than weekday crowds. Families come with strollers and folding chairs. Veterans arrive in groups. People are emotional, sometimes unpredictably so, because the day carries real weight for many of them. Knowing your environment before the energy picks up gives you a steadiness that no amount of radio chatter can replace.

Stay hydrated and eat a real meal before your shift. Heat and long hours on your feet are a combination that will wear you down faster than you expect, especially in late May when temperatures are climbing.

Find the meaning in what you are doing. You may be guarding a cemetery where families are laying wreaths, a parade route where veterans are marching, or a festival where kids are experiencing their first real taste of summer. In each case, you are the reason those people feel safe enough to be present and open. That is not a small thing.

When your shift ends, take a moment for yourself. Visit a memorial if one is nearby. Have the meal with your family even if it is late. Memorial Day belongs to you too, even if you experience it a few hours behind everyone else.

As a security guard manager, how you respond to problems often reveals more about your leadership than the problems themselves. The difference between proactive and reactive thinking is not just a management philosophy; it is the difference between controlling your operation and being controlled by it.

Consider this scenario: one of your guards begins showing a pattern of no call, no shows. After some digging, you discover she is also working a second security job. A reactive manager waits until this pattern becomes a crisis. The post goes uncovered. A client calls upset. Scrambling begins to find a last minute replacement, often pulling another guard into overtime and straining morale across the team. The reactive response is to write up the guard after the fact, issue a warning, and hope the pattern stops. It rarely does.

A proactive manager reads the early signs differently. The first no call, no show is not just an inconvenience; it is a signal. Rather than simply documenting the incident and moving on, the proactive manager opens a direct conversation. Questions get asked about the guard's overall schedule, her workload at both jobs, and whether fatigue may be a factor. This is not about being soft. It is about gathering information before a pattern becomes a liability.

From there, a proactive manager may establish clear scheduling expectations around outside employment, review company policy on secondary jobs, and assess whether that guard can realistically remain dependable given her current commitments. If the guard is genuinely stretched too thin between two demanding roles, placing her on critical posts is a risk that should not be taken.

The proactive approach also looks inward at the operation itself. Are scheduling practices creating pressure that pushes guards toward second jobs out of financial need? Are shifts distributed in a way that leaves certain guards overworked while others want more hours? These are systemic questions a reactive mindset never reaches because it is too busy putting out fires.

In security management, an uncovered post is never just an inconvenience. It is a safety gap, a client trust issue, and a liability. The guard working two jobs and disappearing without notice is a manageable problem when caught early. When ignored, it becomes a staffing crisis, a contract risk, and in the worst cases, an incident waiting to happen.

Reactive thinking fixes yesterday's problem. Proactive thinking prevents tomorrow's.

The timing could not be better for renters in Denver right now. Rents across the Denver metro have declined year over year. Many apartment complexes are now offering concessions such as up to eight weeks of free rent. Year over year rent changes show declines of 3% to 7% in many areas, and rent growth is expected to remain modest through the year. In short, your property management company is trying to raise your rent in a market that is moving in the opposite direction. Here is how to handle it.

Pull the Numbers First

Look up comparable units in your neighborhood on sites like Zillow, Apartments.com, and RentCafe. Screenshot everything. When you walk into that conversation with management, you want cold, current data showing what the same size unit is renting for two blocks away.

Write a Formal Response Letter

Do not just call and complain. Put it in writing. Acknowledge the notice, then lay out the market data you gathered. Be professional and respectful, but be direct. Note that nearby properties are actively offering free rent incentives to attract tenants and that the market simply does not support an increase at this time. Property managers are businesspeople. Vacancy costs them more than a steady tenant paying flat rent.

Use Your Value as a Tenant

As a security guard, you likely work odd hours and keep a watchful eye on the property by default. That is worth something. Remind management that you are reliable, you pay on time, and you understand security. Long term, stable tenants save landlords significant turnover costs. Offer to sign a longer lease at the current rate rather than accept an increase. Many management companies will take that deal in a soft market.

Know When to Escalate

If management refuses to negotiate, remind them in writing that Denver ranked among the top metro areas in the nation for the largest decline in effective rents, falling 7.3% at the end of last year. Mention that you are aware of the vacancy rates in the area and that you are actively looking at other options. Sometimes the simple act of signaling you might leave is enough to change the conversation.

Your Bottom Line

You are not at a disadvantage here. The market is on your side. Do your research, communicate professionally, and stand firm. In a city where landlords are competing hard for good tenants, a reliable security guard who pays rent on time has more leverage than they might think.

When a security guard takes leave under Colorado's Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program, their employer must be prepared to maintain continuous coverage across all assigned posts. A 12-week absence is significant in security operations, where gaps in coverage can create liability and safety risks. Here is a practical approach to keeping shifts filled and operations running smoothly.

Understand the Timeline Early

As soon as an employee provides notice of an upcoming FAMLI leave, begin building a coverage plan. Colorado FAMLI generally requires 30 days of advance notice when the leave is foreseeable, so managers typically have time to act before the first day of absence. Use that window to assess how many weekly shifts need to be covered and whether any overlap with holidays or high-traffic periods requires extra attention.

Lean on Current Staff First

Before hiring externally, review the availability of existing guards. Many security officers are willing to pick up additional shifts for overtime pay, especially if the arrangement is temporary and clearly defined. Be transparent about the duration, approximately 12 weeks, so staff can make informed decisions. Document any voluntary agreements in writing to avoid scheduling disputes later.

Create a Rotating Coverage Schedule

Rather than placing the full burden on one or two people, build a rotating schedule that distributes the extra shifts across multiple team members. This reduces fatigue, prevents burnout, and keeps morale higher over the course of 12 weeks. Post the schedule at least two weeks in advance so officers can plan around their personal commitments.

Communicate with the Client or Site Management

If your guards are assigned to a specific client site, notify that client as soon as a coverage plan is in place. Clients want reassurance that their post will not go unstaffed. Share the names and qualifications of any replacement officers ahead of their first shift, and confirm that all licensing requirements are met under Colorado law.

Plan for the Return

As the 12-week leave period nears its end, begin coordinating the employee's return. Confirm their anticipated return date, brief them on any changes to post orders or procedures, and taper the temporary coverage schedule to avoid overstaffing during the transition week.

A well-organized coverage plan protects your client relationships, supports your team, and ensures the employee on FAMLI leave can focus on recovery or family care without worrying about their job security upon return.