1
Turning the Page on Doom and Gloom Improving
Morale in Your Library

• 2013 New Jersey Library Association
  Micro-Conferences
• Presented by
• Michael Bobish
• Berkeley Branch Manager, Ocean County Library

2
Disclaimer 1

• This presentation is not intended to minimize the
  struggles your library has experienced in the
  last four years.

3
Disclaimer 2
Image courtesy of the Mr. Men Wiki
4
What This Presentation Does

• Offers suggestions for supervisors on making
  their employees more self-directed, happy, and
  productive
• Gives tips for employees on how to make their
  work and personal lives better
• Tells why levity is important, and lists ways in
  which everyone can make their libraries more fun

5
Presentation Perspective

• Students outlook
• Presentation is pulled from current academic,
  business, and library research
• Anecdotal experiences from our New Jersey library
  colleagues included

6
Advice for Supervisors

• Be accessible. Go to staff, engage in
  conversation, connect with each other.
• Be honest. If staff asks a question, whether
  difficult or easy, answer as honestly and
  thoughtfully as possible. If you cant share
  some information for a good reason, say that.
• Be open. Connecting with people will encourage
  them to be open with you return the favor.
• Be kind. There is no good to be achieved by
  meanness.
• Be fair. Its natural to favor some people over
  others, but everyone should receive a fair amount
  of time, a fair hearing, a fair chance.
• Be funny. Humor is a social lubricant!
• -Cindy Czesak, Library Director, Paterson Free
  Public Library

7
Money Its a Gas

• Try to ensure that employees salary, benefits
  needs are met
• Motivation is difficult to maintain without this
  baseline
• However, money isnt everything

Pink, Daniel H. Drive The Surprising Truth
about What Motivates Us. Riverhead Books, 2009.
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
Motivation 3.0

• People are at their most productive when pursuing
  goals that interest them
• We have an intrinsic desire to work, contrary to
  Motivation 2.0s assumptions
• Employees develop their most innovative ideas
  when theyre self-driven
• People will work harder when their lifestyle
  needs are taken into account

Pink, Daniel H. Drive The Surprising Truth
about What Motivates Us. Riverhead Books, 2009.
11
Examples
12
Tapping into Employees Drive

• Get to know your staff and what makes them tick
• Give them unstructured time when they can pursue
  innovation and interests
• Make lifestyle accommodations, if possible

13
Beware of Extrinsic Motivators

• If-Then rewards require some forfeiture of
  autonomy
• Can encourage cutting corners and unscrupulous
  actions
• People begin to value the reward, and not the act
  itself
• Only use on menial tasks, and give the external
  rewards unexpectedly

Pink, Daniel H. Drive The Surprising Truth
about What Motivates Us. Riverhead Books, 2009.
14
Have Realistic Expectations

• Dont ask your employees to do double the work if
  you have to lay off or fire their co-workers
• Use volunteers to supplement efforts
• Delay non-essential tasks or projects

Casey, Michael Michael Stephens. The
Transparent Library Lets All Lighten Up.
Library Journal, August 2008.
15
Does the Wrong Side of the Bed Matter?

• Start-of-workday mood affects job performance
• The workplace can positively or negatively change
  ones starting mood
• Quantity vs. quality.
• Bottom line Let people finish their coffee first.

CC Image courtesy of Hans on Pixabay
Rothbard, Nancy, and Steffanie Wilk. Waking Up
on the Right or Wrong Side of the Bed
Start-of-Workday Mood, Work Events, Employee
Affect, and Performance. Academy of Management
Journal, Vol. 54, No. 5, 2011.
16
Last Advice for Supervisors
Building and maintaining staff morale is an
ongoing activity. Interact with your staff in a
way that you are comfortable, be sincere with
them, and respect their opinions. When staff are
included in the decision-making and
problem-solving at their branch, they feel
invested in their work, and that they are valued
by their supervisors. Dont be afraid of being
perceived as weak or in jeopardy of losing your
authority by letting them participate. -Linda
Feaster, Long Beach Island Branch Manager, Ocean
County Library
17
Advice for Library Employees

• A lot of people work very hard and dont always
  feel appreciated. If you make the habit of
  saying thank you to every co-worker who assists
  you throughout the day, from the person emptying
  your wastebaskets to your supervisor, it helps
  people to know they are valued. Even making a
  general statement to staff at the close of the
  day, such as, Thanks, everyone, for your work
  today, can build a more pleasant and
  appreciative environment.
• When someone goes the extra mile (e.g., your
  maintenance person is dealing with a terrible
  mess in a public restroom or a front-line staff
  member took a large heaping of abuse from an
  irate patron and stayed professional throughout),
  pull them aside to let them know you saw what
  they did and you appreciate their help.
• -Anonymous

18
Repeat after Me

• Nothing would be the same if I did not exist.
  Every place I have ever been and everyone I have
  ever spoken to would be different without me.
  (David Niven)

Niven, David. 100 Simple Secrets of Happy
People. HarperCollins, 2006.
19
A Sense of Purpose

• Why did you decide to work in libraries?
• Reflect on the people youve helped
• A study of older Americans found that 7 in 10
  people felt unsettled without a sense of purpose
  those numbers were reversed among those with a
  sense of purpose

Madigan, M.J., D. Mise, and M. Maynard. Life
Satisfaction and Level of Activity. Activities,
Adaptation, and Aging, Vol. 21, No. 21, 1996.
20
Focus on the Positive

• Try to focus on the aspects you like about your
  library, rather than the negative things
• People who dwell on negative subjects and
  unhappiness are 70 less likely to feel content
  than those who dont

Lyubomirsky, S. The Hedonistic Consequences of
Social Comparison Implications for Enduring
Happiness and Transient Mood. Ph.D.
Dissertation, Stanford University, 1994.
21
Be Kind to Your Co-Workers

• Life satisfaction increases by up to 24 when
  people act altruistically towards others
• Things You Can Do
• Hold doors for people
• Water co-workers plants
• Talk to your colleagues when they seem upset
• Take on a co-workers project if she or he seems
  overwhelmed

Williams, A., D. Haber, G. Weaver, and J.
Freeman. Altruistic Activity. Activities,
Adaptation, and Aging, Vol. 22, No. 31, 1998.
22
Emotional Contagion (a.k.a. Fake It until You
Make It)

• People mirror each others states, starting with
  body language and then moving to emotions
• Try flashing a sincere smile to people in your
  libraries, and see what happens

Rothbard, Nancy, and Steffanie Wilk. Waking Up
on the Right or Wrong Side of the Bed
Start-of-Workday Mood, Work Events, Employee
Affect, and Performance. Academy of Management
Journal, Vol. 54, No. 5, 2011.
23
Crank Out the Tunes

• Music positively affects the mood of 92 of
  people who listen to the songs of their choice
• Excitement and happiness are the most common
  reactions
• Play it in the office, if you can

Music Soothing Savage Beasts Since 20,000 B.C.
Hakanen, E. Emotional Use of Music by African
American Adolescents. Harvard Journal of
Communications, Vol. 5, No. 124, 1995.
24
Advice for Employees (Off the Job)

• Throughout the year, I make a point of making
  mental notes about staff that have to do with
  either something extra they did or something
  small that had a big impact or something we
  shared a laugh over or a challenging situation
  they successfully worked through. Then at
  holiday time, I handwrite a greeting card
  thanking them for all their hard work, mentioning
  their specific tasks and I mention two or three
  of those little things that happened throughout
  the year.
• Staff seem to enjoy and appreciate it, and
  mention how they didnt think I noticed that,
  or they themselves had forgotten about it. I
  like to think it helps with morale, which is
  always challenging.
• -Judy Roberts, Supervising Library Assistant,
  Jackson Branch of the Ocean County Library

25
Exercise!

• Regular exercise directly increases happiness 12
• Makes a dramatic contribution to improving
  self-image
• Try walks during your lunch break with co-workers

Fontane, P. Exercise, Fitness, and Feeling
Well. American Behavior Scientist, Vol. 39, No.
288, 1996.
26
Sleep More!

• Sleep contributes to health, well-being, and a
  positive outlook
• For those who sleep less than 8 hours, every hour
  of sleep lost contributes to an 8 less positive
  feeling about their day

Pilcher, J. Affective and Daily Event Predictors
of Life Satisfaction in College Students. Social
Indicators Research, Vol. 43, No. 291, 1998.
27
Make Time for Fun!

• Central to a satisfied life
• People who have fun are 20 more likely to feel
  happy daily
• They are also 36 more likely to feel comfortable
  with their age stage in life

Lepper, H. In Pursuit of Happiness and
Satisfaction in Later Life A Study of Competing
Theories of Subjective Well-Being. Ph.D.
Dissertation, University of California,
Riverside, 1996.
28
Levity

• Sample Branch Activities
• February 14th Dress Up Day (Hors doeuvres
  chocolates)
• March 4th Souper Day (Soup, of course!)
• March 22nd Egg Day (Anything egg! There is also
  a staff meeting that day with special
  egg-related activities)
• April 15th Tea Party (Tea will be provided--you
  bring the treats)
• May 17th Cupcake Wars (We will need tasters and
  bakers--HOMEMADE FROM SCRATCH only)
• June 3rd Family Recipe Day (Make and bring your
  favorite family recipe to share)
• June 21st MARGARITAVILLE! (No explanation
  needed)
• -Suzanne Scro, Manchester Branch Manager, Ocean
  County Library

29
Why Levity?

• Increases employee retention
• Laughter reduces
• Depression
• Confusion
• Anger
• Fatigue
• Tension
• Increases blood flow, comparable to exercise

Gostick, Adrian Scott Christopher. The Levity
Effect Why It Pays to Lighten Up. John Wiley
Sons, Inc., 2008.
30
Laughter Pays

• Humorous employees
• Yield more influence
• Command higher salaries
• Are more effective negotiators and presenters
• Climb the corporate ladder faster

Gostick, Adrian Scott Christopher. The Levity
Effect Why It Pays to Lighten Up. John Wiley
Sons, Inc., 2008.
31
Ideas for Your Library

• Form a Spirit Committee
• Have theme days
• Create celebrations staff and customers can take
  part in
• Make creative bulletin boards
• Reward above and beyond service to customers
  and staff

32
(No Transcript)
33
(No Transcript)
34
Other Great Ideas

• Play work bingo with tasks that need to be done
• Have a parking lot tailgate party
• Have a quarterly potluck lunch
• Have a family ice skating event
• Have a retro dress up day

• In the summer, bring an ice cream truck on-site
• Have a trivia night
• Setup a mini-golf course in the office
• Have meetings outside or at a local park
• Have a joke of the day contest

Gostick, Adrian Scott Christopher. The Levity
Effect Why It Pays to Lighten Up. John Wiley
Sons, Inc., 2008.
35
Even More Great Ideas

• Build a Wall-of-Fame in your staff room
• Challenge another library to a softball game
• Have a best cookie contest
• Start a staff book club
• Have a Christmas in July day at your library

• Make an ugly Hawaiian shirt parade that marches
  around the library
• Have a karaoke lunch
• Bring in pizza for lunch
• Have everyone try to use--in context--a new,
  difficult word during the course of a meeting
• Play hockey in the hallway

Gostick, Adrian Scott Christopher. The Levity
Effect Why It Pays to Lighten Up. John Wiley
Sons, Inc., 2008.
36
In the End
No one can snap their fingers and make someone
happy. What you can do is help people to see
what is useful for them to see. What you can do
is point and hope they look. --Harry Gilman
Niven, David. 100 Simple Secrets of Happy
People. HarperCollins, 2006.