Link to the Power Point
Symptoms of Burnout:
- fatigue
- irritability
- crying jags
- anxiety attacks
- loss of appetite
- weight gain
- teeth grinding
- insomnia
- nightmares
- increased drug, alcohol, tobacco use
- forgetfulness
- low productivity
- inability to concentrate
Audience suggestions:
- awareness of how long you have left to work on your shift
- low productivity - not feeling like completing tasks but not having the option not to do them
Causes of Burnout:
- budget pressures
- heavy workloads
- an overload of clerical duties
- the need to respond quickly
- administration demands
- difficult patrons
- technology-related problems
- little input into collection decisions
- few opportunities for advancement
Audience suggestions:
- being "on" at the service desk constantly or if you work in a small community, being "on" everywhere because you run into patrons outside of the library
- renovations
- having experience but being stripped of responsibilites
- in regards to "administration demands" above - someone suggested to just wait 5 years and it'll change - or hold out and try to be the change
- lots of gossip and venting to coworkers - creates a negative work environment
Strategies to Deal with Burnout:
- recognize burnout
- use your vacation time, breaks, etc.
- exercise, stretch
- eat well
- know your limitations
- learn to say “No”
- don’t be a perfectionist
- accept help from others
- go home on time
- straighten office everyday
- don’t take work home with you
- identify activities that relax you
- develop a support network
- ask for new job duties
- consider a job change
Audience suggestions:
- don't think about work on vacation...or at home
- establish boundaries as a supervisor that work for you (e.g. not calling when off work, etc.)
- get out of the building at times when you can on breaks
- put headphones in and listen to music (or not!) to discourage distractions from others while on breaks
- do chair/desk exercises to stretch and refresh (use Google for ideas)
- how to say no to management:
- point out what you are already doing - offer compromise and other solutions
- suggest other coworkers to take on projects/tasks instead
- hide! (just kidding)
- have an honest conversation with your boss about being burnt out and break that barrier
- let your boss know what will suffer or not happen by taking on another task/project
- make it about the library and not you personally
- ask for help, even though a lot of us want control and think it'll reflect poorly on us
- go home on time and alleviate patrons staying after closing
- turn off computers early
- make frequent announcements about closing times
- don't perform certain services that take awhile (new cards, passports, faxes, etc.) after a certain time
- don't check work email from home
- Google "satisfying videos" to find some relaxing things to zone out to
- identifying relaxing activities
- yoga
- meditation
- download the "Stop Breather Think" app
- look at the items in your collection for help (the 150s books, relaxation audiobooks, etc.)
- don't be afraid to ask for different job duties or swap some with others
- regarding job change - it might not be the wrong profession for you, but it might be the wrong organization for you
Resources:
- Read Sing Play: https://klmpeace.wordpress.com/?s=self+care
Anything to add for alleviating burnout? Leave it in the comments!
No comments:
Post a Comment