In the infinite learning module, I appreciated reading the article titled Emotional Labor, Stressors, and Librarians Who Work with the Public (2020). I’ve worked in customer service jobs for most of my adult life, so that type of work is not new to me. However, a coworker and I were talking the other day about feeling more burnout lately. I know that part of it for me is school on top of working full time, but said coworker is not in school anymore and is also feeling the burnout. We describe it as having to be “on” all the time. Being in customer service mode almost every day is emotionally taxing, even if I do enjoy the job. The article also mentions short staffing which does seem to usually be a problem in my jobs, as well. An important part of self-care for librarians is using personal, vacation, and sick time. When libraries are short staffed, it can be hard to feel like it’s okay to take time off. I like to keep in mind that taking some time off (not at the last minute) helps me recharge and I’m much more productive when I get back to work.
I also found this article in which library workers recalled specific negative instances with patrons and how they perform self-care. I found the article relatable and insightful. It’s titled The Emotional Labour of Public Library Work (2021).
Hi, Sara! Weirdly enough, I was just talking in a discussion post for a different class about the translatable skills between customer service and our field. I think the forward-facing social aspect of reference service librarianship really caught me off guard when I first started working in a public library, but slowly became one of my favorite parts of my job. A fundamental difference between the two is the power dynamic – service workers are often bound by the act of service to defer to their customers, while librarians often hold far more power as gatekeepers of information accessibility. Nevertheless, it can be very demanding for an introvert; so, thank you for the article recommendation! I had never made the connection between the gender statistics of our field and the expectations patrons have of us and our labor.
I’m always fascinated by countries that have mandatory vacations. There are pros and cons to that system, but I feel like if we required employees to at LEAST have a staycation with their work covered by other people and their phones off, they might feel less guilty about it.
Hi Sara,
I totally understand the burnout talk. I’ve been there many times myself. I’ve worked with the public for so long, it’s easy to build up resentment and frustration. I feel like the next step in advocacy is actually advocating for better staffing and pay. I sometimes feel like we will never get there because so much of the advocacy work right now is about keeping libraries open.