Description
In March 2020, many libraries transitioned from onsite to remote work in an “abundance of caution” due to the coronavirus pandemic. Almost overnight, the varied interactions previously occurring across classrooms, conference rooms, offices, staff lounges, and cafes transformed into endless Zoom sessions. Many library employees consequently noted feeling greater stress, fatigue, and burnout, the latter of which is characterized by emotional exhaustion, cynicism, alienation from work activities, and reduced job performance. We measured how burnout related to affect, personality, job satisfaction, and various characteristics among library employees during this transition to remote work.
We distributed a survey to all library employees at a large, urban research university during the 2020-2021 academic year. The survey included previously established measures of four constructs: (1) affect: Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, (2) personality: Big Five Inventory, (3) job satisfaction: Brief Index of Affective Job Satisfaction, and (4) burnout: Bergen Burnout Inventory-9. We also included demographic questions and items inquiring about Zoom use.
Among the 54 survey participants, burnout did not differ based on service area (public services or technical services), employee status (faculty or staff), nor the amount of time spent in Zoom meetings. However, it was significantly negatively associated with job satisfaction, positive affect, and the personality traits of agreeableness and conscientiousness. Conversely, burnout was significantly positively associated with negative affect and the personality trait of neuroticism.
These results may be used to help library employees reduce burnout in both their libraries and personal lives, capitalizing on their unique characteristics to redesign workflows that improve workplace culture and create individually optimized, innovative work environments for “the new normal” and beyond.
Included in
Zoomed Out? How Burnout was Associated with Affect, Personality, and Job Satisfaction Among Library Employees During the Pandemic
In March 2020, many libraries transitioned from onsite to remote work in an “abundance of caution” due to the coronavirus pandemic. Almost overnight, the varied interactions previously occurring across classrooms, conference rooms, offices, staff lounges, and cafes transformed into endless Zoom sessions. Many library employees consequently noted feeling greater stress, fatigue, and burnout, the latter of which is characterized by emotional exhaustion, cynicism, alienation from work activities, and reduced job performance. We measured how burnout related to affect, personality, job satisfaction, and various characteristics among library employees during this transition to remote work.
We distributed a survey to all library employees at a large, urban research university during the 2020-2021 academic year. The survey included previously established measures of four constructs: (1) affect: Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, (2) personality: Big Five Inventory, (3) job satisfaction: Brief Index of Affective Job Satisfaction, and (4) burnout: Bergen Burnout Inventory-9. We also included demographic questions and items inquiring about Zoom use.
Among the 54 survey participants, burnout did not differ based on service area (public services or technical services), employee status (faculty or staff), nor the amount of time spent in Zoom meetings. However, it was significantly negatively associated with job satisfaction, positive affect, and the personality traits of agreeableness and conscientiousness. Conversely, burnout was significantly positively associated with negative affect and the personality trait of neuroticism.
These results may be used to help library employees reduce burnout in both their libraries and personal lives, capitalizing on their unique characteristics to redesign workflows that improve workplace culture and create individually optimized, innovative work environments for “the new normal” and beyond.