A behaviour study of how academic library employees approach their jobs and manage change

 Ronan Cox (@ronancox2) - Business Librarian, Dublin City University.

Introduction

You may remember I posted a piece back in early December 2020 asking for assistance completing a short survey as part of my dissertation on the MSc in Work and Organisational Behaviour. The context for my research was the ever-changing world of work and an investigation into how academic library employees, despite facing shifting job demands, can deal with these changes in order to remain aligned and engaged with their jobs. 

This research direction was chosen for two reasons. Firstly, my work and studies coincided with Covid-19 and I could not ignore the huge impact it had on us as individuals and employees. Secondly, I saw it as a good opportunity to try and understand how employees interact with their workplace and why we approach and manage our jobs in the way that we do.

Many of you kindly answered the call and I am delighted to now share some insights and observations. I have put together a short summary which can be accessed here. While this research focuses on academic library employees, I believe the research and findings will resonate with individuals working in any type of library. So, please feel free to share with your colleagues!

In summation, academic library employees tend to exhibit strong levels of personal growth which results in individuals proactively developing their job over time in a variety of ways. This results in a better sense of psychological well-being at work for the employee, a greater ability to manage change, and a likelihood of becoming involved in additional projects or tasks to further self-development.

This research may be of interest to employees who seek to better understand why they approach work in the way they do. Employers might use this research as a basis for recognising the different personality types present in their teams and how to manage these for the benefit of both the individual and the library.

Should anyone wish to obtain a copy of the full dissertation, please do not hesitate to get in touch directly.

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Covid-19: its impact on academic library employees - kind request for assistance with a short survey

Ronan Cox (@ronancox2) - Business Librarian, Dublin City University

 

I am posting this piece to kindly ask for your assistance completing a short survey (about 7 minutes) as part of my MSc in Work and Organisational Behaviour. It has direct relevance to academic library employees and the impact Covid continues to have on how we approach our jobs.

In the wake of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, organisations are feeling the pressure to adopt new technological developments while also managing their employees work experience. Against this backdrop, there has also been a shift in the relationship between organisation and employee. 

It can be argued the way we work has changed and more than ever, organisations need employees to be resilient, proactive, energetic and fully engaged in their work. The repercussions of Covid-19 on the workplace will be felt for years to come and faced with this new reality, employees must continually adapt to new contexts, interact with others differently, and use appropriate coping strategies to manage shifting job demands and instances of job change.

Research has concluded that individuals are predisposed to respond in certain ways when faced with change. As organisations and employees respond to the changing work environment, it can be argued that fostering a positive disposition toward change is critical to future individual and organisational success. 

Against the backdrop of Covid-19, the rationale for my research is to explore if academic library employees utilise adaptive coping skills to engage in behaviours designed to manage their changing job tasks better. And in doing so, does it result in increased person-job balance and positive work outcomes.

Benefits of this research will include:
1.    Insight into how academic library employees manage their jobs
2.    Insight into how academic library employees think and plan for personal development
3.    An understanding of how the impact of Covid is affecting academic library employees 

Should you wish to participate, please find the survey here.

Also, if you think your colleagues (Ireland or International) might be interested, please feel free to share the survey link.

The intended research sample is any employee working in an academic library environment, regardless of position.

All responses are very gratefully received and I will post a summary of the results when analysed!

Best,

Ronan

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