Barre with Justine

I recently returned to campus from sabbatical, excited about the prospect of mingling with colleagues and being back in the campus energy. The first morning I woke up extra early, dressed up in a Nancy Drew-inspired pantsuit and added a dash of perfume (pretend I didn’t add that last part…no scent policy). I took the elevator up and stepped onto…a completely deserted floor. My first interaction of the day was with the barista at the equally deserted campus Starbucks and later that day one colleague had her door open so I stopped to say hello.

It’s true that this is prime vacation season and the students haven’t returned, but I honestly felt a little deflated. It sounds terribly ungrateful to say this, but sabbaticals can be quite lonely. The time to read, research and reflect is amazing but you can lose a sense of purpose and the connection with colleagues. When it’s a maternity leave, there’s a tiny human that needs your attention relentlessly but sabbaticals are an entirely different experience. I remember feeling like work was continuing on without me and questioning the importance of what I was doing and researching.

I had hoped that things would be back to normal on campus. Things have changed in the academic library, as they always do, and many academic librarians are embracing the opportunity to work at least partly from home.

Where does this leave those of us who thrive on in-person connections?

I’m not trying to convince anyone that we need to be back in person, every single day. As a mom of three I’m so grateful for the flexibility to work from home and aware that not everyone is comfortable in person.

At the same time I think a lot about relationships with colleagues and how that can impact our wellness at work. One of the topics of my sabbatical was building connections and community with students through wellness initiatives, mainly through the book clubs I’ve been offering over the past few years. I’ve studied the loneliness felt by students when classes moved online and the difficulties they faced without the traditional connections that students have during university.

There is SO much research out there about the impacts of remote work on employee wellbeing, with many studies based on the experiences during the pandemic (this systematic review looked at 44 studies and this extensive report examined 96). There is so much that there is even an entire website dedicated to it!; what I’d like to focus on here is how we might boost relationships and communication in the library workplace.

How to build connections now

We know intuitively and from research that workers who feel connected and who have friendships at work are happier and more engaged. The question that we all seem to struggle with post-COVID is how best to feel connected with others when we are scattered between working from home or at the office, like ships crossing in the night? I have thoughts!

• Go where others gather to work. I did this during my sabbatical, when a local Starbucks became a bustling location to work on my writing. The New York Times even had an article about this strategy in March of this year, titled “Where Everybody Knows Your Name: How becoming a regular at a neighborhood shop soothed my loneliness.” There’s something about being around other people that just feels instinctively cosy and more conducive to work.
• Create ‘fun’ opportunities to meet in-person. This could be after-work drinks or a staff yoga session. What’s fun to one person may not be fun to another and, in this new hybrid environment, it can be a little scary to put an idea like this out there. Next week I’m offering a lunchtime yoga session for library colleagues but it felt very awkward to send the invite out (would people want that? feel obligated to attend?)
• Work where you work the best but mingle wherever possible. My goal since coming back to campus has been to set up coffee dates with as many people as I can, partly to remind people that I still exist and partly to get that interaction with other people.
• Find opportunities outside work to feel part of a community. For me, group fitness is where I find community and I always try to share how much you can gain from group fitness, both physically and emotionally. You could also find community through Church, volunteering or a social club. We all want to feel part of something and like we belong. ♡

and finally…

For academic librarians especially, follow the trend of your university and take opportunities to connect with students. Many university students are among the age group that is suffering the most from loneliness and we can make a difference with how we create opportunities for connection in the library, from our space design to programming and interactions with library staff.

Have you felt lonely in your own job?

What do you think are some ways we can find connections with colleagues, even in a hybrid environment?

Thanks for reading, as always!

Resources

Blank, Lindsay et al. “Exploring the Relationship Between Working from Home, Mental and Physical Health and Wellbeing: a Systematic Review.” Public health research (Southampton, England) 11.4 (2023): 1–100. Web.

Costin, Alina et al. “Remote work burnout, professional job stress, and employee emotional exhaustion during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Frontiers in psychology vol. 14 1193854. 1 Jun. 2023, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1193854

Murthy, Vivek. “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation – Hhs.Gov.” US Department of Health and Human Services, http://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf. Accessed 23 Aug. 2023.