Library Worklife

Volume 4, Special Issue • June 2007

Work/Life

Beat the Work/Life Balance Conundrum with a Quality of Life Context: The Work/Life Balance Conundrum (v1n7, July 2004)

By Burt Woolf

I don’t like using the term “work/life balance” to describe the relationship between my personal and professional worlds. For me, the word “balance” suggests an “either/or” relationship between my personal life and professional work—as if when I’m at work, I’m not in my real life; and when I’m not at work, my job somehow disappears from my consciousness.

Now it is true that work can be tedious, frustrating, unfulfilling, and limiting—and sometimes (maybe even more than any of us care to admit), we’d rather be fishing than at our desks. And it is also true that too much work can detriment the quality of our personal lives—our families suffer on account of it, and in turn, so do we. But the truth is, the boundaries we set for where work and life should begin or stop are variable for each of us—there’s no one-size-fits-all formula that will establish a universal standard for saying to a particular person, “This quantity of life and that quantity work is the 'right’ mix for your happiness”.

If you try to “balance” work and life in such an “either/or” framework, you will ultimately discover the fundamental paradox of work-life balancing strategies: You can’t get enough “not work” to make a bad job better. Tolerable for a while, maybe; but not all better. In fact, if you try to compensate for a bad job by doing more personal stuff, the worse off you’ll be because you’ll hate to get back to work even more!

So this is the first lesson we teach at the Center for Quality of Life: the more you separate life and work, the more effort, struggle, dissatisfaction, and pain you will create for yourself, which in turn creates stress, and ultimately. burn-out or melt-down.

Consider a Quality of Life Context

At the Center for Quality of Life, we have another way of looking at the relationship between life and work. Rather than discrete and independent paths, we consider work and life to be interwoven threads—part of the same fabric of who you are, what you do, how you feel about yourself, and how you relate to your external world. Instead of “balancing life and work,” we say that people should live their all aspects of their lives in a “quality-of-life context.” That is, work and life should co-exist with in a larger framework of being, thinking, feeling and action.

“Quality-of-Life Context” Inside and Out

“Quality of Life Context” is an experience—a way of being—defined by positive experiences in both internal and external dimensions of one’s personal and organizational life:

Internal quality-of-Life experiences:

Sense of self-worth, meaning, purposefulness, and fulfillment;
Joy, inspiration, spaciousness, awe, and creativity;
A motivating passion to serve; and
Striving for integrity and excellence.

External quality-of-life experiences

Sense of community, connection and partnership;
Respect and caring about the well-being of others; and
Stewardship responsibility for sustaining the natural and human resources in our world that contribute to quality of life around us.

As strategies for putting your work and life into balance, feeling positively about yourself and living a high-integrity life should not be taken as fluffy stuff, as some do. After all, if your life is out of balance, isn’t the problem in the first place that you aren’t feeling as good about yourself or your life as you’d like?

The more valid challenge is how to establish authentic self-affirming qualities for yourself, so that they really do make a positive difference, not only in how you feel, but in how you perform in all aspects of your life.

Living in a Quality of Life Context

We have identified at least seven principles that can guide you in creating a quality of life context for your own life. We present them here as bullet-points, with a brief application to work/life balance issues:

Seven Principles for Creating A Quality-of-Life Context.

Personal Vision. Develop a clear sense of who you are and where you’re headed . When your vision is well-articulated, you can express a more compelling and clear need for balance (i.e., your concerns are not misdirected or left unexpressed).
Roles and Identities. Be aware of the different roles you play in life, and the rules associated with those roles . When you are conscious that you are playing a certain role at a given moment, then the “uncomfortable” rules associated with that role are somehow more tolerable and more easily changed.
Personal Foundation. Take good care of your physical, emotional and spiritual Self . When all aspects of your being are in good shape, then you are more resilient against the anxieties of work/life imbalances.
Service. Live and act with compassion for others . When you can truly understand where others are coming from, then you more likely to see and deal with what’s motivating their intentions (especially those that are seemingly negative).
Relationship. Create resourceful, productive and interdevelopmental relationships around you . When relationships around you are mutually nurturing, then you can more easily work with others to correct uncomfortable situations.
Action. Take action that is responsive to the circumstances and in alignment with your needs . When you are responsive—not reactive—to situations, your decisions and actions are more assertive, straightforward and effective.

Destiny Recognize that no matter what happens, you are still on life’s path . When you experience life as your own inexorable journey of infinite possibility and personal potential, then upsetting circumstances become sources of learning and growth.

Discovering Your Own Quality of Life Context

To realize the full potential of the seven principles for creating a quality of life context, you will need to transform your experience of living, from the “either/or” framework we mentioned at the beginning of this article, to an inclusive holistic understanding of your life. Traditional cognitive formats (i.e. one-way lectures, textbook reading or multiple-choice tests) generally will not yield the required transformative results. You should be seeking experiential learning environments—retreats, workshops, seminars, etc. Such settings of “transformative education” facilitate deep personal insights and teach you to tap into and trust your intuitive wisdom—the capacity we all have for natural inner knowing.

Since the 1970’s, research and discoveries in psychology, systems theory, change management and the new sciences, have shown conclusively that you can shift your experiential orientation to life in a way that generates greater fulfillment and satisfaction, while at the same time increasing personal performance and productivity. There are many transformative educational programs that you are likely to find locally and nationally—retreat centers or organizations. In the meantime, if this topic is of interest to you, you might enjoy reading from the following starter list of related texts.

Conclusion

Whatever mode of transformative learning you choose for setting your own quality-of-life context, you will very likely get in touch with whatever degree of passion you have for being a library worker. No matter how you feel about your job, and no matter how much or little balance you experience in your work/life, in library work you are indeed making a difference in the quality of other peoples’ lives. Now, it’s time to treat yourself to the same result!

Burt Woolf is founder and chief principal of the Center for Quality of Life, which he founded in 2003 to nurture those who want to live and work in a quality-of-life context. Since 1974, he has facilitated, coached and advised people, teams, organizations and communities to achieve their full potential. He developed Accelerated ConsensusT , a citizen-based approach to strategic decision-making for improving quality of life in communities His Effortless LeadershipT executive development programs help people re-discover their intuitive inner wisdom, so they can lead others productively, without struggle. Burt is also President of QL Consulting, Inc. in Amherst, Massachusetts, a national consulting practice that helps improve quality-of-life for people where they live, work, play, visit, and learn. You can view Burt’s work at www.C4QL.org.

How Libraries Celebrated National Library Workers Day (v3n4, April 2006)

Tuesday, April 4, was a fun day for library employees! Library staff were eager to share their celebrations with LW readers. You may find some inspiration below. Patrons, Friends groups and local media were involved in simple to elaborate celebrations to fit any budget and staff size. Many treats were distributed as thank yous, but there were also educational programs, behind-the-scenes exhibits, and heartfelt expressions of gratitude. A selection of these ideas will be posted on the NLWD Web site for the 2007 Celebrations.

Raleigh County Public Library, Beckley, WV (thanks, Danny!)

We all enjoyed seeing our library stars, Jewell Ayers and JoLynn Prince-Lacek on the web site.
The local news station Fox 59 (WVNS), Channel 11 did a news spot on Jewell and they took the information directly from the ALA-APA web site. She was thrilled.
Channel 11 also came to Raleigh County Public Library and filmed all our behind the scenes people who make this place run.
We created a photo poster and placed it in a prominent place near the circulation desk honoring all our library workers.
We had fun teasing all of our behind the scenes people. Thank you for giving us this opportunity.

Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, MD (thanks, Eleanor!)

Enoch Pratt celebrated National Library Workers Day in a grand way.

Staff were given burgundy and cream t-shirts, which read "EPFL Celebrates National Library Workers Day, April 4, 2006."
Each staff member received a thank you postcard which featured "thank you" in different languages on one side and a thank you message from Dr. Carla Hayden, the Board of Trustees and Directors of the Library.
Staff received lanyards (assorted colors), which have "National Library Workers Day @ EPFL" imprinted on them.
All public service departments and branches received a free standing rack with post cards in them. The cards said "National Library Workers Day, Tuesday, April 4, 2006. Please write a brief statement on “How the Pratt Library has Changed My Life” on this card and leave it with the Library staff. Thank you. The cards the library received had incredible testimonies from patrons of all ages.
The " Let Everyone Know!" flyer was in the rack
We put the names of all the staff in a bag. We had 17 gifts to give away. Seventeen names were selected. We placed a numbered disk on each gift bag and called the staff member whose name was selected. They in turn would have to select a number from 1–17, which corresponded with the gifts in the bag. The person would get the gift with that number along with a note of thanks from Dr. Hayden and the committee that put together the National Library Workers Day celebration. Some of the gifts were: a Mary Kay gift basket, Johnathan Ogden signed cap, ballpoint pen, picture frame, 5” black/white television, and other goodies.

Brooklyn Public Library, NY (thanks, Lisa!)

All of our employees received buttons.
Each branch received a NLWD banner to display.
Each branch was allocated funds to purchase refreshments of their choice for the day.
Our Central Library utilized our cafeteria to provide refreshments for all of the staff in the entire building.

Calhoun County Library, Edison, GA (thanks, Linda!)

Held an Open House
Decorated with green balloons tied to the Library sign
An invitation posted on the outdoor sign welcomed patrons to come inside and share cookies and lemonade served from a draped table holding a fresh spring flower arrangement.
The Library staff wore their NLWD pins.
Patrons congratulated them on their courteous service, pleasant atmosphere and great reading materials.

Eskind Biomedical Library, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN (thanks, Rachel!)

A committee created yellow stars reading “Library employee _____ is a star because...” and placed them at service points and copiers for patrons and staff to fill out. They ran out of stars mid-week and had to print more! Everyone on staff got at least one star, with many receiving multiple stars.
Placed NLWD posters near decorated collection boxes
Decorated the library with fresh cut flowers
Stars were displayed in the Historical Collections room on 5 large foam boards.
Party featuring star-shaped goodies

Harford County Public Library, Belcamp, MD (thanks, Audra!)

We had big fat thank you cookies delivered to all of the branches and our Administrative office. The cookies were a big hit.
The Director sent an email out early in the morning wishing everyone a happy National Library Workers day and thanked them for making HCPL the great system it is.

Alexandria Public Library,VA (thanks, Rose!)

Each department received a card that said “A few hugs and kisses from Library Administration” along with a gift basket of Hugs (little juice barrels) and Kisses (Hershey Kisses, Hershey Kisses Hugs, Hershey Kissables).

Cleveland State University, OH

The Library News Web site encouraged people to "Stop by the University Library and tell your favorite librarian or staff member how much you appreciate what they do."

Indian Trails Public Library District, Wheeling, IL (thanks, Sally!)

Each staff member received a handmade thank you reading "You’re a Treasure to the Library and the Community." The card had a clever silhouette of a treasure chest with a Sacagawea gold dollar coin affixed and signatures of all the managers.

Cotuit, MA (thanks, Diane!)

The Friends of the Cotuit Library gave each member of the staff a plant for their desks and dropped off refreshments for their break that day.
The Town of Barnstable passed resolution recognizing National Library Workers Day.

Arizona State University (thanks, Smita!)

The Diversity Initiative Team sponsored National Library Week from April 2-8, 2006. Two of our goals were to recognize the work of libraries and library workers and to highlight careers in libraries.
The Team encouraged those on campus to "Come by Fletcher Library and meet those people who make your library’s services possible" and to nominate your favorite worker to the National Library Workers Day Stars web site http://www.ala-apa.org/about/nlwdstars.html, sponsored by the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association.

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA; thanks, Beth!)

The ALA Division sent the following welcomed message of encouragement to its membership:

April 4th is National Library Workers’ Day! Here’s a little something from YALSA, which we hope makes you feel appreciated:

Five Reasons Why YA Librarians are Better than Google:

Google locates only web sites, while YA librarians find all types of resources in any format.
Google requires you to design your own searches, but YA librarians help you plan an effective search strategy.
Google leaves it up to you to sort through the mountain of results, while YA librarians assist you in selecting information to meet your specific needs.
Google provides no quality control, but YA librarians always have a Plan B if your search yields no results.
Google is an inanimate web site with no ability to offer moral support, but YA librarians are real people who can dispense things like encouragement, high fives and even hugs.

Thanks for all the hard work you do to ensure that teens get the best library service!

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Union

AFSCME is a great supporter of the 10,000 library workers who it represents.

AFSCME was a gold-level sponsor of the NLWD Web Site.
AFSCME made available "AFSCME Library Workers" buttons and pins and bookmarks that read "Libraries work because AFSCME members do."
Gerald W. McEntee, President of AFSCME, praised the nation's library workers in a press release and endorsed fair pay - http://www.afscme.org/press/pr060404.htm.

“Library workers care so much about literacy and learning, and their commitment shines through even in the toughest times,” President McEntee said. “Unfortunately, the federal budget has under funded state and local governments for many years, and library staff and resources are often among the first to be cut. Yet library workers have shown tremendous resiliency, deftly adapting to the demands of the digital age and keeping our libraries running smoothly on shoestring budgets. Funding our libraries is a critical investment in our future, and it is incumbent upon our leaders to provide library workers with the pay, support and respect that they have earned.”

AFSCME posted Staffing America’s Libraries: Big Changes, Big Challenges, by Jon Melegrito, a report about the origins of the lack of pay equity for librarianship and how AFSCME has been able to help library staff raise pay even in situations with reduced budgets.

San Jose Public Library, CA (thanks, Joan!)

Mayor Ron Gonzales and Ken Yeager (Library Liaison) gave a group of library workers a proclamation at the City Council meeting. Yolanda Cruz, who is an Information Technology person at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library and Municipal Employees Federation’s Vice President, made the proclamation happen.
Yolanda secured Library Day AFSCME buttons and pins to distribute this week to workers and encouraged workers to wear their AFSCME green t-shirts
The Library Administration and Library Stewards bought cakes for each of the branches and visit the branches for the cake-eating events.
Several libraries created "staff favorites" displays and had library themed story times and/or talking about library work.
A staff member created a collage of staff pictures at the Circulation Desk
Some Council members provided treats for the libraries in their jurisdictions for staff and the public, and visited with Library staff during this time.

District of Columbia Public Library (thanks, Jewel and Wanda!)

The District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) observed National Library Workers Day, April 4, 2006, by planning several activities to honor all of its staff members.

An attractive badge, with the message "Libraries Work Because We Do," was designed specially for all DCPL staff to wear during National Library Week to convey that each staff member performs valuable work in the library system.
Multiple copies of the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association flier, " Let Everyone Know," were sent to every department and unit of the Library, where they were made available to all library users as well as DCPL staff. The flier invites library users and library employees to submit the names of library employees whom they consider to be stars and why.
A special photography exhibit, "Behind the Scenes," featuring library employees who work in non-public service areas, is on display throughout the month of April at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, the system’s main or central library. Non-public service areas are the focus of the exhibit because they do not receive the exposure that the public service areas naturally receive. The hope is that this exhibit will provide the public with a better understanding of the wide range of responsibilities and tasks involved in keeping the library going. A bibliography, "Working at the Library: Recommendations for Learning More," was prepared by DCPL staff to accompany the exhibit.
DCPL Labor-Management Partnership Council Co-Chairs, Francis J. Buckley, Jr., Interim Director of the District of Columbia Public Library, and Toni White-Richardson, Union President of AFSCME, Local 1808, sent a special message to all DCPL employees expressing thanks and appreciation for them as individuals and for all the work they do to make the system work.

Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA (thanks, Cynthia!)

The Libraries in Pullman, Washington, staged a Library Learning Day on National Library Workers Day. We solicited ideas for library-related topics our staff and faculty wanted to learn more about, then matched up topics with employees who could address them in 15 or 30 minute segments. Sessions were held in two side-by-side library instruction rooms so attendees could easily move from one to another. Topics included:

Information Literacy program
Appreciative Inquiry [an organization process we are doing]
Electronic Resources Management Module (ERM)
Marc Format Holding Data (MFHD) and ’library has’ statements
Tutorials Assessment poster session
LibQual surveys
“Changes in Pedagogy” [Guest speaker from our Center for Teaching and
Learning]
OPAC Futures
Open Access
WSU Research Exchange: behind the scenes [our institutional repository
Online information about Griffin [our OPAC]
WSU Wiki
Assessment
GWLA, Orbis-Cascade, etc. and why we belong [our major consortia]
Outlook Basics (email & calendar overview & how-to’s)
Database searching for non-Reference employees
Expectations of the Millennial Generation
CONTENTdm
Search It! / Metasearching

Job Burnout As a Library Management Issue (v3n6, June 2006)

By Casey Schacher

Professional burnout has long been a problem for organizations, yet it wasn’t until recent decades that the condition, often associated with extreme incidents, referred to as “going postal,” has been given serious recognition. Nevertheless, more and more people are beginning to realize the impact of chronic workplace stress on both employees and their workplaces. Just as workers experience severe mental, emotional, and physical consequences of job burnout, management has witnessed its effects on organizational morale, productivity, prosperity and stability. Libraries are no exception to this. In fact, the nature of librarianship as a helping profession caught up in rapid change and fiscal instability may promote chronic career anxiety. Because of this, the topic of burnout must move beyond being an individual’s problem to being viewed as a library management issue that deserves organization-wide attention and strategic actions geared toward reducing negative stress in the workplace.

Burnout is related to but different from common stress. Typically, stress is manageable and can even be beneficial if dealt with effectively. Burnout, on the other hand, occurs when chronic, persistent stress becomes unmanageable and results in emotional, physical and mental exhaustion.¹ People with burnout feel that inner resources are inadequate for managing the tasks and situations presented to them.² The symptoms range from subtle to serious, and can render a good employee ineffective. Burnout is highly correlated with “increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, reduced mental health, and reduced physical health.”³ Those who are afflicted often experience fatigue, anxiety, apathy, digestive problems, and even psychosomatic illnesses and heart attacks. While these are only a few of the symptoms, employees often feel that burnout is caused by adverse work conditions, including being:

Overworked,
Underappreciated,
Confused about expectations and priorities,
Concerned about job security,
Overcommitted with responsibilities,
Resentful about duties that are not commensurate with pay.⁴

Although anyone can suffer from burnout, certain personality traits and other factors can be indicators of at risk individuals. Young, energetic, idealistic, committed and perfectionist employees are most at risk for burnout, and if the condition is left unchecked many of these workers may decide to change jobs or even careers.⁵ Burnout is also associated with job responsibility. For example, full time librarians are more susceptible to chronic stress than part time employees.⁶ Similarly, people with higher levels of education and/or greater degrees of responsibility are more likely to burn out. Since burnout drastically reduces job performance, the people who have the most potential and who are highly qualified to benefit an organization are the very people who can, given enough time and adverse conditions, become the least stable employees.

Librarianship, as a service profession dealing with the complexities of informational and technological advancement, dwindling budgets and downsizing, is at risk for inducing job burnout. Some stressful work conditions, such as low pay, increased workloads, bureaucratic inertia and increased job competition, are shared by all helping professions. Others, however, are unique to the library. Censorship, librarianship stereotypes, clerical workloads for professional positions and a lack of input in collection development and other library-related policies are just a few of the complaints posed by librarians.⁷ Librarians, generally highly educated with heavy workloads and intense responsibilities, are particularly at risk for persistent, unmanageable workplace stress.

Stressful conditions that adversely effect organizations are plentiful in libraries, and, as a result, burnout has become an increasingly important management topic. Job stress that causes sick time, long-term disability, excessive employee turnover, reduced productivity and direct medical, legal, and insurance costs is estimated to cost the U.S. economy $300 billion annually.⁸ Employees in danger of burning out often feel unable or unequipped to finish even simple tasks and may quickly become overwhelmed as unfinished work piles up, thus creating a burden on the organization and those that depend on that work to be completed. Yet not all stress is bad; some stress, such as a challenging yet fulfilling workload, is needed to prevent boredom and to motivate employees.⁹ The issue for managers, then, is to identify and negate unhealthy anxiety while encouraging positive stress so that they may gain optimum performance from workers without pushing them over the edge.

An important task for artful managers concerned with burnout is to identify stressful conditions as well as which employees are most likely to be effected by them. Managers should be on the lookout for burnout symptoms or at risk employees and provide support to those that need it. When burnout is spotted, it may be that the person could use help prioritizing and breaking up larger projects into more manageable steps. Caution should be used, however, when attempting to implement institution-wide support programs since what is stressful to one employee or department may not be an issue for another. Those not experiencing burnout may look upon task management help as a removal of autonomy, which is a cause of tension in and of itself.¹⁰ Managing burnout requires finely tuned social skills that facilitate the identification of troubled employees as well as the ability to distinguish when and where aid is needed.

Despite the need to distinguish between negative and positive stress and those who do or do not need assistance, several techniques exist that can let managers ease the burden of stress for all employees without endangering the organization’s harmony. One of the best opportunities for management to help battle potential burnout is to set up a foundation of success from the onset of a person’s employment. Proper training of new professionals coupled with a gradual, individualized introduction to pertinent information prevents unrealistic expectations of both the employee and the employer and builds confidence in the worker’s ability to perform effectively in the new environment. One suggestion is to alternate actual tasks with orientation sessions, allowing new staff members to “build up to a full work load and a full knowledge of the system.”¹¹ Well-trained employees will be more likely to feel equipped, both mentally and emotionally, to effectively handle assignments and responsibilities and, empowered by the resulting self-assurance, will have a better chance of fending off job burnout.

Like new employees, existing workers can also benefit from management strategies designed to minimalize the negative effects of workplace stress. Perhaps one of the most effective, easiest and inexpensive methods to promote healthy employees is to encourage and administer direct feedback that includes peer recognition. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, such as through regular meetings centered on discussing employee goals and projects as well as through incentive and appreciation programs. In order to be successful, however, feedback should be positive, informative, timely and should ideally come from someone who understands the nature of the accomplishment.¹² Management may need to train themselves and others on how to make positive comments even if the related observations are negative. Also, generalized praise as well as recognition that comes days or weeks tardy or from an unqualified source may not have the desired impact.

Other crucial yet simple tactics to reducing burnout include manipulating the physical environment and encouraging continued professional development. Because management has the greatest ability to change the physical workspace, they can more easily create environments conducive to productivity. When possible, managers should reduce distracting noises, encourage personalization and organization of workspaces and provide comfortable temperatures and pleasant lighting in work areas and lounges.¹³ Another technique is to promote continued professional growth that increases self-esteem and professional competence. Learning new things is “one of the best ways for those who are not experiencing burnout to prevent its occurrence.”¹⁴ Additional formal education and professional conferences and training meetings are excellent sources for growth and should be advocated for by management through verbal approval and financial and mental support. To help reduce the chances that learning itself (which is a positive stress) becomes a source of significant anxiety, management may wish to not require an employee to report on what was learned or to enroll several employees at once in the same educational activity to distribute the responsibility.

Chronic workplace stress that leads to burnout is a major issue for modern organizations, including libraries. Its effects can be devastating not only to the individual suffering but also to the institution as a whole. Management is faced with the tricky tasks of recognizing stressful conditions, identifying at-risk employees, finding the balance between good and bad stress and helping to reduce stressors while avoiding aggravating conditions even further. Through simple, yet effective techniques, however, workplace burnout can be prevented and even reversed.

References

Janette S. Caputo, Stress and Burnout in Library Service (Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1991), VII.
Sheila Hutman et al.,“Burnout: Signs, Symptoms, and Prevention,” Helpguide, Apr. 4, 2005, www.helpguide.org/mental/burnout_signs_symptoms.htm (accessed 7 June, 2006).
Caputo, 71.
Hutman et al.
Caputo, 77.
Ibid., 27.
Ibid., 65.
"Job Stress," American Institute of Stress, hwww.stress.org/job.htm (accessed 7 June, 2006).
G. Edward Evans, Patricia Layzell Ward, and Bendik Rugaas, Management Basics for Information Professionals (New York: Neal-Schuman, 2000), 120.
Caputo, 134.
Ibid., 135.
Ibid., 140.
Ibid., 146.
Ibid., 143.

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