In Fall 2024, I was invited to speak at the Largo Public Libary’s Staff Day – but Hurricane Milton had other plans. On the originally scheduled date, Milton blew through Largo, rendering so much damage that the Library was designated as a Disaster Recovery Center for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). For the next few months, LPL library workers collaborated with FEMA and supported community members as they navigated rebuilding their lives – while they were, no doubt, reeling from their own experiences with the hurricane. LPL employees: thank you!
By the new year, LPL contacted me to reschedule my talk, which happened in last month. I offered an hour long Presentation introducing people to my low-morale experience research. As always, throughout the conversation I gathered some data to get a snapshot of attendee experiences and reflections.
During the Presentation
I asked attendees to share their definitions of a low-morale experiences – responses included:
- “Coworkers who talk about others in a negative way.”
- “When the overall workplace is not welcoming and supportive. When concerns are dismissed or staff members are isolated, resentment festers.”
- “When…employees who routinely underperform or shirk work are rewarded, while other staff members who pick up the slack are underpaid, undervalued, and overworked.”
- “Coworkers not having confidence in their peers, and not having open communication.”
- “Dealing with the same issues and never feelings like there is a satisfactory conclusion.”
- “When the extra time and effort we make is not acknowledged by our supervisors.”
Do any of these statements resonate with you?
I also presented some industry-related influences of low-morale experiences (frameworks), and I shared a few established and emerging countermeasures. Here are attendee responses to most resonant frameworks and countermeasures they are interested in applying:
Largo Public Library Renewals Presentation attendee responses to which low-morale experience frameworks are most resonant.
Largo Public Library Renewals Presentation attendee responses to which countermeasures they would try or continue.
Presentation Evaluation
This presentation yielded no evaluation data; however, I want to thank Largo Public Library for inviting me to speak at this year’s Staff Day.
Are you looking for a resonant speaker who can offer space for reflection and reimagination? Contact me!
