Stress Management
for Library Staff
An Infopeople Workshop
2007
Presented by:
Edmond Otis, M.S., M.F.T.
eotis@BaronCenter.com
This Workshop Is Brought to You By
the Infopeople Project
Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project
supported by the California State Library. It
provides a wide variety of training to California
libraries. Infopeople workshops are offered
around the state and are open registration on a
first-come, first-served basis.
For a complete list of workshops, and for other
information about the project, go to the Infopeople
website at infopeople.org.
“Stress is nothing more than a
socially acceptable form of
mental illness.”
- Richard Carlson
Our Agenda
Understanding Stress:
where are we vulnerable?
Building Personal Strengths
and Emotional Reserves:
in and out of the library
Tools for Reducing Stress in the Library
Mastering the Day-to-day:
finding peace in the eye of the storm
Our Goals
Learn what stress is and how it affects us
Identify individual stress areas in our professional and
personal lives
Learn techniques for dealing with stressful library
situations, people, and circumstances
Understand how lifestyle, diet, exercise and rest effect
our health and emotions - and our vulnerability to stress
Develop personal skills and resources to manage stress
at the library
Learn stress management techniques that can be used
on a daily basis
Please don’t stress.
You don’t need to do everything
we talk about today.
We are here to see some options and
explore some choices.
One way to manage stress is
to pick your battles –
and be your own best friend.
Part I - Understanding Stress:
Where Are We Vulnerable?
Stress is a normal part of life. Yep, especially in the
library.
Professor Seyles’ world famous stress theory - how
stress works
Why do we feel the way we feel - and respond the way
we do?
Flow: an Eastern perspective
The long and short-term costs, risks, and (yes) benefits
of stress
“Stress is when you wake up
screaming and you realize you
haven't fallen asleep yet.”
- Anonymous
Exercise #1
“So, What’s So Stressful about
Working at the Library?
What do we know about stress?
First of all –
it’s normal, and it’s not all bad!
Second, it’s absolutely primal and primitive.
... think of a caveman
stuck in a traffic jam!
How Can We Tell
If We Are Stressed?
Increased heart rate?
Sweaty palms?
Shortness of breath?
Increased breathing?
Dizziness?
What else… ???
How can people tell if
others are stressed?
What does it look/sound like?
Professor Seyles’ World Famous
Stress Theory - How Stress Works
Stress is "the non-specific response of the body
to any physical and emotional demands placed
upon it"

Distress – comes from negative events

Eustress – comes from positive events
The Stress Response –
How It Works...
1. Alarm reaction stage

Senses – first. Brain - second

The “Four F” Response
Fight, flight, feed, folly...
2. Resistance stage
3. Exhaustion stage
Flow - An Eastern Perspective...
We crave balance between our thoughts, actions,
and emotions.
Personal synergy – Where DO YOU get that?
The more out of balance those aspects of our self –
the more stress we experience.
ACTIONS
SYNERGY
EMOTIONS
THOUGHTS
Stress Buster Deep Breathing Techniques
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot
change; the courage to change the
things I can; and wisdom to know
the difference.
-Reinhold Niebuhr
Part II - Building Personal Strengths
and Emotional Reserves:
In and Out of the Library
The six dimensions of health - are they working
for you, or against you?
Building physical resources and healthy habits

sleep

nutrition

activity and exercise

work and lifestyle
Exercise #2
Personal Stress Level Inventory
Think of health as being
made up of six interacting
and dynamic dimensions
These are your personal
resources against stress
The Six Dimensions of Health
PHYSICAL
OCCUPATIONAL
INTELLECTUAL
HUMAN
RESOURCES
EMOTIONAL
SOCIAL
SPIRITUAL
Physical Health
Disease susceptibility
Body weight & composition
Physical senses
Strength, endurance and coordination
Powers of recuperation
Genetic predispositions
Blood pressure
Emotional Health
Certain emotional characteristics help you
grow and develop

Degree to which you can cope with stress

Ability to remain flexible

Compromise to resolve conflict
Those who consistently try to improve
emotional health seem to lead more
enjoyable lives
Intellectual Health
Ability to process and act on information,
clarify values and beliefs, and exercise
your decision-making capacity

e.g., taking prescription drugs
Refusal to grasp new information or analyze
your beliefs could hinder your degree of
growth

e.g., smoking
Social Health
Also known as social graces, skills, or
insights
Most of your growth and development has
taken place in presence of others
Occupational Health
Occupational health: employment
satisfaction is directly related to many
aspects of health and levels of stress

External rewards

Internal rewards
Spiritual Health
How we answer the unanswerable

Often related to religious beliefs and practices
Includes how you relate to other living
things, nature of human behavior, and your
willingness to serve others
Spiritual health can be enhanced in a variety
of ways
We are not invulnerable
Nor are we destined to feel
powerless or overwhelmed
We can reduce stress dramatically
by building our physical resources
and healthy habits
Building Physical Resources
and Healthy Habits
What do we know?
What can we control?
Sleep
An average adult needs between 6.5 to
7.5 hours of sleep in order for the body to
fully recover
Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol
Consider your sleep logistics...
NutritionOld news – but you really are what you eat
Eat breakfast
Snack well and wisely
Balance – protein, fats, and carbohydrates
Sugar – bad!
Activity and Exercise Saving energy makes you tired – you must
use energy to gain energy
Exercises for relieving stress may be in the
form of physical, mental, or spiritual exercise
What is good for the body is good for the mind
and vice versa
Know the “target heart rate” formula
Lifestyle and Perspective
If there is no joie de vie – what is there?
Balancing life and work
“The miracle's curse” - unplug and
disconnect
Distinguish the urgent from the important
Exercise #3
Choose one from column A
and one from column B...
Stress Buster Deep Breathing Techniques
Part III - Tools for Reducing Stress
in the Library
Time management and priority setting in the
real-world library
“It’s a people job” = stress


managing staff relationships - managing patron
relationships
professionalism, openness, communication, and
assertiveness

creating realistic expectations - ours and theirs

building personal relationships and peer support
“Those who know others are intelligent Those who know themselves are wise.
Those who master others have force Those who master themselves have strength.”
- Lao Tzu: The Tao of Power
Good Time Management Is
Critical for Stress Management.
Discipline Is the Key!
Prioritize tasks
Avoid over-commitment
Always use a calendar or planner
Check it before committing to anything
Do an Assessment!
The BIG $ experts suggest identifying time-wasting
tasks by keeping a diary for a few days.
This will help you notice where you may be losing time..
How much time do you waste…
Talking to people you don’t need to talk to?
On non-productive emails?
Repeating tasks?
Looking for stuff?
Wasting time?
???
Do Daily Tasks at Regular Times...
Productivity experts recommend setting aside a
specific time (or multiple times) each day to
check and respond to e-mail and messages!
Don’t be a slave to incoming information.
Take the time to actually write down a list of
your “regular” daily tasks.


when would be the best time to do them
what would be the most efficient way to organize
your day to make sure everything gets done?
PROCRASTINATION!
What type do you use?
Personal Organizational Skills
Clutter-free and well-organized physical
surroundings (office, desk, kitchen, closet, car)
reduce stress and improve performance
Make it a habit (daily? weekly?) to clean out
and sort through the messes of paperwork and
clutter that accumulate over time
Really respect shared space
We are all people people...
People with strong social support systems
experience fewer physical and emotional
symptoms of stress than their less-connected
counterparts
Loved ones, friends, business associates,
neighbors, and even pets are all part of our
social networks
“Stress: The confusion created
when one's mind overrides the
body's basic desire to choke the
living daylights out of some jerk who
desperately deserves it.”
- Anonymous
Managing Staff Relationships
Frequent staff meetings help - keep it light
Encourage an open but respectful
communication style
Question authority, but don’t sabotage the
hierarchy!
Teamwork, clarity, and consistency always
reduce stress and improve the workplace
Nothing reduces staff stress like a
sense of unity and purpose..
The staff/public relationship always flourishes
with:

teamwork

clarity

consistency
Patrons Are Not the Enemy
and you are not a miracle worker
Communicate clearly
Address the problems, but first acknowledge a person’s
frustration...
Use my favorite phrase,
“I understand that this is important to you.”
Exercise #4
Create a “reduced-stress”
personal library plan.
What are some “doable”
solutions to library problems?
“Future shock [is] the shattering
stress and disorientation that we
induce in individuals by subjecting
them to too much change in too
short a time.”
- Alvin Toffler
What’s the Real Job?
Acknowledge the 10% = 70% Reality!
By most informal library staff
estimates... 10% of our patrons
are responsible for 70% of our
workload.
Many people feel stress
interacting with others in a
professional setting.
When we work with the public, we occasionally
we need to tell people what they don’t want to
hear.
Conversely, people (co-workers, patrons, etc.)
end up saying things to us we don’t want to
hear, either.
Exercise #5
Getting Comfortable with Our
Most Powerful Word
Becoming comfortable with the
“Concept of No,” whether we are giving
or taking, greatly reduces our stress.
But it’s tough.
By nature we want to be accommodating and
helpful.
The important thing to remember is that in a
professional setting, saying and hearing “NO” is
a non-personal part of the job.
Instructions: Find a partner. Choose who will go first.
The asker will make eye-contact, and ask their partner to
perform a simple task (for example: “please take this
pencil” or “please hand me that piece of paper”).
The partner will look back and say, “No.”
Hold eye-contact, without fidgeting, talking, smiling,
laughing, or moving, for five seconds.
Try to be as emotionally-neutral as possible. It’s only
business.
That’s it – but, it’s harder then it sounds. Some of us will
feel the most discomfort when we are the one saying “No”.
For others, it’s harder to hear “No.” Which was it for you?
The Fine Art of Taking a Break
Distinguish between public time and personal
time
Unplug and disconnect
Energize
Remember the whole action, thought, feeling
thing? Now’s the time!
The Social Aspects of Stress
Management
Manage staff relationships - manage patron
relationships

teamwork, clarity, and consistency
Professionalism, openness, communication,
and assertiveness
Create realistic expectations--ours and theirs
Build personal relationships and peer support
Part IV - Mastering the Day-to-day:
Finding Peace in the Eye of the Storm
Making an oasis in the desert - how physical/
mental/emotional self-management skills work
Progressive muscular relaxation and “the relaxation
response”
Self-talk and reinterpretation
Imagery and visualizing
Developing a productive world view for the library;
settling in on what’s important to you; cutting loose
from what isn’t...
“Stress is basically a disconnection
from the earth, a forgetting of the
breath. Stress is an ignorant state.
It believes that everything
is an emergency. ”
- Natalie Goldberg
The Stress Emotions
Anger – keeps us locked in the past
Fear – grabs us and throws us in the future
“The greatest weapon against stress
is our ability to choose one
thought over another.”
- William James
Exercise #6
Stress Busters
Three powerful techniques…
Progressive muscular relaxation and “the
relaxation response”
Simple meditation
Imagery and visualizing
Develop a Productive World View
for Your Library
A low stress staff has settled and agreed on
what’s important -- and what isn’t
It’s part of their mission statement
DON’T FORGET…
Please fill out an evaluation
before you leave.
Thank you!