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From blame to burnout: How negativity takes over your shift

A brutally honest look at the negativity we create, ignore, and pass along

This week on Inside EMS, ChrisCebolleroand Kelly Grayson dive deep into the dark side of workplace culture — the seven types of negativity that poison morale, ruin teamwork and chip away at your love for the job. From the moment the coffee hits your cup, to the second the rig rolls out, negativity can show up uninvited: complaints, criticism, blame, gossip — and yes, the ever-present cynicism.

But this isn’t just a leadership lecture. It’s personal. Kelly opens up about his own battles with depression and how behaviors like self-pity and cynicism creep in under stress. The duo explores how everyday negativity often masks deeper issues — cries for help, burnout, lack of connection — and how leaders (and peers) can break the cycle.

This episode is real, raw and one every EMS pro needs to hear.

Memorable quotes

  • “Negative attitudes spur negative attitudes. It’s a phenomenon that feeds on itself.” — Kelly Grayson
  • “Stop blaming and stop pointing fingers and let’s fix the problem.” — Chris Cebollero
  • “These seven types of negativity do us no good. All they do is drag us down personally, and they drag our workplace and our coworkers along with it.” — Kelly Grayson

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Catch a new episode of the Inside EMS podcast every Friday on Apple Podcasts,  SoundCloud,  Amazon Music,  Stitcher,  Spotify, and RSS Feed. Enjoying the show? Please take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Contact the Inside EMS team at theshow@ems1.com to share ideas, suggestions and feedback, or let us know if you’d like to join us as a guest.

EMS1 uses generative AI to create some content that is edited and fact-checked by our editors.

The Inside EMS podcast is a regular expert discussion of hot topics, clinical issues, operational and leadership lessons for EMTs, paramedics and chiefs