Dog Ear

"What's wrong with me today? I actually helped a patron."

I just picked up the October 2008 issue of the American Libraries magazine. Now, I’ve never held the ALA in high regard, but I find this month’s cover story timely and articulate. The argument: Libraries retain incompetent employees (from directors who implement and insist on promoting irrelevant pet projects to lowly desk Librarians that provide poor customer service).

“There are three types of organizations: Those that meet the needs of those we are supposed to serve, those that meet the needs of the director or persons in power, and those that meet the needs of a dysfunctional system or the collective neuroses of the staff.”

The last, author Miriam Pollack goes on to define; “Individuals do not or cannot perform the functions of their jobs, and no one is doing anything about it. Duties are taken over by those able to do so, thereby overworking competent staff. We allow those individuals to remain in their jobs, stressing other workers and bringing down the morale of departments or the organization as a whole.”

While I believe most organizations suffer from the grandiose pet projects of one or a few of their “Peter Principle” managers, these projects can usually be circumvented with a little creativity. When the legs of the organization decide or are unable to function, that’s when things start to crumble.

And yet, Libraries retain these employees. According to Pollack, this can be attributed to our collective non-confrontational attitudes. “We would rather be miserable and live with a difficult employee than face the problem.”

Sadly, I have to agree with this assessment, based on various personal experiences. One employee, within a library or other departmentalized organization, raises concern when he/she: is tardy, unwilling to perform work duties, or displays a generally aggravating or negative work ethic. Often, I have witnessed bickering and complaining from over-worked or morale-shot coworkers. However, the issue is compounded when no one affected by this behavior speaks up about it to management. Some feel it is not their position (they are low on the corporate hierarchy) and others simply don’t want to make matters worse or become know as trouble-makers.

This non-confrontational approach often has the opposite effect. The problem employee continues to display poor customer service and patrons/customers will notice. Competent workers become disaffected or disenfranchised.

How is such a problem to be tackled? Pollack suggests assisting staff members in getting help or with moving on. “Often, our staff members need assistance dealing with psychological and social issues. We are not psychologists or social workers, and we need to direct those individuals to appropriate professionals. If your organization is a member of an Employee Assistance Program, encourage the use of that service.”

Good advice. But what if the employer is not part of such a program, or if the problem employee is not eligible for such a program? How might the person react to such a suggestion?

Any other suggestions? Has anyone else come across a similar problem? Was it (and how was it) resolved or was there a “wait and hope X employee gets a job somewhere else” attitude?”