Vantaggi
-Flexible hours
-Chance of downtime with low patron volume times
-Minimal patron interaction in comparison to other gym and/or pool employees
-Sense of importance to patron safety and gym customer satisfaction
-Certification courses offered annually
-Understanding of student (high school and college) schedules
-Local managers try their best to respect individual employee schedules and manage last minute shift changes; In doing so they will often take personal action and guard pools themselves when needed
Svantaggi
-Unreliable coworkers and variable shift times due to tardiness of relieving guard(s)
-Poor Maintenance responsiveness, organization, and quality; Many instances in which lifeguards are left to close pools due to irreparable chemical range issues or faulty equipment/machinery
-Minimal/No breaks or lunches
-Patron attitudes can be hard to manage at times, especially when managing secondary (or tertiary) problems already
-Unresponsiveness of Maintenance and/or upper management about pertinent issues
-No raise/promotion/upward movement opportunities within the company
-Favoritism between guards and employee staff as well as pool locations, mostly due to whichever locations earn the company the most money
-Poor communication between employees and higher ups
-General mistrust amongst coworkers and no accountability when something is done incorrectly; Problems snowball into the next guard's shift without notice or consideration for others
-Poorly kept pool facilities
-Combative and/or Arrogant patrons on occasions
-Some upper management are socially unaware and can be seriously out of line with comments and occasional actions, especially when considering workplace and power dynamics between themselves and their employees
-Understaffed constantly at various locations