Worth Reading – “Pizza Parties Don’t Fix Burnout”: The State of Librarian Mental Health

The number of issues workers in libraries face is astounding, and I’m not surprised many are suffering from burnout.

That said, I also know that many of these same issues exist across other industries.

The list of internal stressors could have come from anyone working in technology, law, or other fields.

• 81% mentioned leadership disconnect and/or toxic or ineffective management
• 52% noted low pay, budget constraints, and funding inequity
• 45% stated there’s a lack of career growth or advancement opportunities
• 34% mentioned burnout, overwork, and doing more with less

We all have similar stressors, and they aren’t going anywhere.

Writing this after Amazon announced 16,000 layoffs, and mentioned replacing some of those people with AI is not going to help anyone feel less stressed about losing their job. Amazon is just a sign of the times, where employers ask their people to care so much that they make sacrifices for the work, that management and shareholders never make on behalf of employees.

Don’t even get me started on “doing more with less.” That idea alone is probably killing more people than we can possibly imagine.

But there are also external stressors that are specific to libraries, but don’t sleep on how much these things impact other industries as well:

• 95% of responses noted budget cuts, layoffs, closures, and defunding as the most significant concerns from outside the library
• 80% of library workers noted stress came from the expectation that the library operates as a social service provider
• 75% mentioned book bans, censorship, and political interference
• 50% mentioned the rising costs of materials, specifically the high costs of digital materials. Libraries pay significantly more to purchase ebooks than the average consumer, and digital platforms like hoopla are a budget drainer.

Budget cuts and layoffs are happening everywhere. Everything is more expensive, even as budgets tighten.

Workers are increasingly being asked to take on roles above their area of work. (We have to do more with less, after all!) Maybe it’s not social services, but it’s definitely training, tech support, and related services.

If you think your employees are not being impacted by the political climate, you might be stupid. It’s not just outside of the office either. They see you removing your DEI hiring practices from the website, gutting employee affinity groups, laying off employee relations staff, and they notice all the things you don’t talk about anymore.

Lawyers, your staff also sees which clients you choose to represent.

Those are all political messages to them.

It’s exhausting to go to work every day for people who refuse to stand behind you as a human being and treat you like an expense they would do anything to be rid of.

Sadly, that is the state of the workplace for many people. It’s not just at the library, and it won’t be fixed by pizza, yoga, or any other lunchtime activity.

https://bookriot.com/the-state-of-librarian-mental-health/

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