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The Stress of Librarianship

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Managing Stress at Work

Dear Library Champion,

Libraries have long prided themselves on being an integral part of their communities, and being a safe, welcoming space. However, many library staff have found themselves dealing with a number of increasing social issues that come with being a community hub. Drug use, mental illness, housing or food insecurity, and violence are some of the issues that library staff face on an increasingly regular basis. In addition to these increasing stressors, librarians are also facing additional stress due to the ongoing pandemic, and making their libraries a safe place for patrons to visit and access materials and resources.

Compassion fatigue and burnout are two common stress-caused diseases found in the workplace. When the employee or employer ignores the symptoms of compassion fatigue or burnout, it often results in a negative work environment, and employees are unable to do their jobs to the best of their abilities or even to continue in their current employment. While stress is a natural part of life, ongoing stress that is not managed can have a negative impact on overall health.

Compassion fatigue can occur when an individual feels overwhelmed by the “cost of caring” for others. Library staff are at risk of compassion fatigue as they interact closely with the public, from reference questions about personal issues, patrons with mental health or substance addictions, inappropriate actions and comments, and even forming connections. Compassion fatigue can result in a lack of empathy, making feeling emotionally connected to your work feel like a burden.

Burnout occurs when an individual has been in a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion for a prolonged period of time. It is a gradual occurrence, and can bleed into all aspects of your life. Library staff are finding themselves expected to take on more duties than ever before, while faced with shrinking budgets and little or no formal training.

To avoid suffering from compassion fatigue or burnout, practicing self-care is an integral step. For many library staff, it can be difficult to set boundaries at work or to step away once the working day is over. Front line library staff interact with every patron who enters their library, and working with the public, while very rewarding, can be very trying. Practicing self-care is an important step in avoiding or lessening the effects of compassion fatigue and burnout.

In addition to self-care practices, consider additional supports such as forming or joining a support group through your organization or professional networks. Look into what emotional support systems are offered through your health care or your employer, and through federal and provincial governments. Use sick days and vacation time if available to you instead of trying to “power through”. Reach out to other community groups to see if forming a partnership is a possibility. Examples of beneficial partnerships are with local health professionals, mental health professionals, and the Law Society of Manitoba.

Burnout and compassion fatigue can have lasting negative affects on your mental and physical health. It is important to recognize the symptoms before lasting negative impacts are suffered. Practicing self-care, reaching out for help either through networks or professional mental health practitioners, and setting boundaries are all important steps in mitigating the effects of burnout and compassion fatigue, and maintaining good mental health.

Additional Web Resources:
Canadian Mental Health
Manitoba Mental Health Services
Ten Ways to Practice Self-Care at Work
An Invisible Threat: Compassion Fatigue in Libraries
When Does Burnout Begin?

Professional Development eBooks

Check out these titles in our eLM Library Management collection.

14 Ways to Overcome Burnout
Promoting Individual and Community Health at the Library
The Weeding Handbook
Library Consultants - We're Here To Help
Questions about library operations, policy development, training, board governance, etc.? Give us a call!
 
Denise Weir
Regional Library Consultant
1-888-841-3326
Denise.Weir@gov.mb.ca
 
Meagan Richards
Municipal Library Consultant
1-888-277-3523
Meagan.Richards@gov.mb.ca

Sport, Culture and Heritage > Public Library Services

Visit the Library Training Calendar on the Public Library Services Branch website for a detailed listing of current training opportunities in Manitoba and online at: http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/pls/calendar.html 
  
PLSB provides an all-access pass for all public libraries in Manitoba to premium Canadian webinars hosted by the Education Institute (EI). This all-access pass allows your library to participate live in any EI webinar over the course of the year. EI is a continuing education program for the library community developed by The Partnership of Provincial and Territorial Library Associations of Canada. 
 
 
Recordings are always available for libraries unable to attend live EI sessions, you access the full 20162017, 2018, 2019, 2020 training archives by selecting the desired links.

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