Fostering Wellness in the Workplace: A Handbook for Libraries

Whether you're an administrator or library leader concerned about the health and well-being of your team, or a library worker excited to launch a health and wellness movement in your library, you'll find sensible guidance and inspiration in Newman's handbook.

As part of their dedication to improving the lives of their patrons, libraries have long offered services, programs, and outreach dedicated to the health and wellness of their communities. There is a growing recognition that library workers themselves are in urgent need of such attention; low morale, and complaints of burnout and a toxic work environment, are only a few of the obvious symptoms. The good news is that by turning inward, libraries can foster wellness in their workplace and make a real difference in the day-to-day lives of their staff. Newman, who has led a popular course on the subject attended by workers from many types of different libraries, here takes a holistic approach to examine why and how libraries should focus on improving the health and wellness of employees. Filled with hands-on advice, examples of successful initiatives, and suggested action steps, in this book readers will learn

• how to define health and wellness, including its physical, psychological, and social aspects, and why they touch upon nearly everything that happens in the workplace;
• what a workplace looks like when it strives to ensure the complete physical, mental, and social well-being of workers, and the ways in which this approach to a work environment benefits both the library and the community it serves;
• the role played by the physical aspects of the workplace, such as the ergonomics of sitting and standing desks, the effects of air quality and smell on worker health and productivity, and noise levels stemming from open plan workspaces;
• about key policies relating to wages, working schedules, where employees work, and child and elder care;
• real-world advice on addressing complicated workplace issues like emotional and invisible labor, with a look at the part that burdensome or indifferent policies and practices can play in contributing to compassion fatigue and burnout;
• ways to make healthy choices for oneself and encourage healthy choices in co-workers and staff;
• concrete, evidence-based steps that libraries can take to improve workplace wellness;
• how to make a lasting difference by focusing on one aspect they can change personally and one that they can advocate changing library wide.

Bobbi L. Newman (she/her) is a librarian, Certified Wellness Practitioner, and workplace well-being expert dedicated to helping libraries create environments where individuals feel empowered, supported, and free to bring their best selves to work. Bobbi specializes in evidence-based strategies to cultivate psychologically safe workplaces that foster trust, collaboration, and open communication. As a consultant, speaker, instructor, coach, and well-being advocate, her comprehensive approach includes workshops, keynote presentations, strategic consulting, and coaching to help organizations establish sustainable practices that reduce burnout, increase engagement, and ensure team members feel genuinely valued. She also writes about workplace well-being on her blog, Librarian by Day, and is a sought-after speaker at state, national, and international conferences.