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Stress; Burnout; Technostress and Libraries

Dear All,

    Last week, my laptop crashed, my laptop got a "blue screen of death". As marvelous as all our technology is, chronic malfunctions and crashes and the constant demand to keep up might account for the fact that at least one in four of us will admit to physically assaulting a device.

Technology is changing so fast that when we are adopting one version of the software, the other version comes out.Technology is the way which extends humans ability. It is very difficult to obtain a precise definition of technology. It is generally accepted that "technology" is more than just a collection of physical products of science. "Technology" is the link between society and its tools. The creation of computer software and hardware, telecommunications, databases, and the Internet has affected society as a whole, and particularly higher education by giving people new productivity options and changing the way we work.

A mental snowball occurs whenever we allow negative thoughts to build up and race out of control. Its our mental equivalent of our tires being stuck in the mud.The more we spin the brain, the deeper we are stuck. Although mental pressure at work happens mostly to me but I lower my stress with shopping, music , traveling and so on...

Oh ..! it was technostress...! I define technostress in two terminologies:

[A] TECHNOSTRESS : TECH + KNOW + STRESS

[B] TECHNOSTRESS : TECHNO + NO + STRESS

What causes Stress by Technology in libraries

  • The Rate of Change of the Technology
  • The Lack of Standardization
  • The Lack of Training Individuals on the Equipment
  • The Reliability of the Technology
  • The Increased Workload Placed on Each Individual
  • The Changing role of Librarians

Ways to Conquer the beast:

1. Manage your energy not your time. We are not running in a marathons everyday yet we try to do the equivalent at our work.

2. Take few minutes relaxation break.

3. Walk outside, take deep breath.

4. Program your computer to clear your temporary files of ur computer device at every 30 days.

5. Keep the status of your gmail or facebook in "Busy" or "Invisible" mode.

6. Turn of rings, pings, dings anything that sings.

7. Work with your team to determine the important and urgent from the unimportant issues.

8. At the end of the day, shut the door of your office, turn-off your computer. Reset yourself and be ready for the new day.

Felt like sharing it with you all... Do you have any experience with technologies ... do share..

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Firstly thank you for publishing this important write up here at LIS Links. I wholeheartedly appreciate such kind of write-up.

The day before yesterday I shared a write-up over facebook and it was like:

Do you remember the last ten updates you liked on Facebook?
Nobody does. There is an important lesson in this fact.

Our brains are getting too much of information in a short span of time. We keep moving from post to post, trying to cover as much information as we can. In short, it's an information overload that your mind is not equipped to handle.

The mind has been conditioned over thousands of years to live a simple uncluttered life. It is yet to evolve into a supercomputer that can process data as quickly as we see it on social media...

Herre are the another story from my end.

On 29 September, 2014 I have joined another organization (Gauhati University) and took the back up of all my personal as well as official file from the computer of my previous organization (Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University) in an external hard disk. As I was not allotted a new PC in the new institution, the data was in the Hard Disk itself till 16th October, 2014. On 17th October I have come to know that my hard disk is not working. I cannot think of living without my data and information. But it should not be the case. The information and data is only a part of the knowledge we have acquired. We are so much stressed and deep into the technology that it sometimes it might look life is impossible without these. However, in reality day by day we are become more and more technoholics. We need to come out of these.

Very truly said. Day-in Day-out we talk about advancement of technology blah...blah... but infact we have become technology dependent. Earlier we used to keep record of our telephone no.s, address etc.,in our human computer( brain memory) but today we can't even get our own mobile no. if asked suddenly. I personally feel that the technology should assist human in resolving the issues and not become an issue itself... Thank You all.

 

Dear Dr. Barman,

Thank you for your spontaneous reply for this post and your story. Yes, I agree that our brain in working even if we are sleeping. In a research it has been found that 70% of the people use GOOGLE website, just to check whether their internet is connected or not?.. But how many of us can remember the color shades of the word "GOOGLE". I bet very few..! There is  a quote which goes like this, "The More You Know, The Better Your Work"

warm regards,

Ajit P.

Greetings Sir…Shri Ajit P

Thanks for the true informative article.

It is worth to share, that you did. I'll help in promotion of this article.

It's quite similar to Green Technology and about the ergonomics and healthy organ of system, human and machines.

I have some personal suggestions to all the people, who are going to implement technology in their culture, that;

  • Focus on needs, not on the availability.
  • Need basis uses.
  • Keep your system in sleep mode during meetings, lunch, or long break.
  • Check/ uncheck before installing any software, carefully. Don't follow the next---next---next based approach.
  • Adjust the brightness of screen, as per the need of your eyes. Use night mode in night.
  • Maintain the right distance and focus on monitor.
  • Avoid to use the social networking sites, online shopping, chatting, etc.
  • No WhatsApp during office hours.
  • Read some notes, files, and understand procedures,  rules to reduce the time and energy deployment in work in next.
  • Instead of using Facebook, Google+, WhatsApp, attend the discussion at professional forums.

This all will reduce your unnecessary attachment with the devices and you will be free from stress. More important part of all discussion, follow the ethics, conduct at workplace.

Thanks...

Dear Munesh,

It was nice to read your comments  and suggestions relating my post. I started writing on this topic few years back and I got very astonishing data when i started the research. It will be a great effort from your sides and as well by  others if they are promoting this article. Few points I liked it very much in your post that we should "focus in needs, not on the availability"  and "Do not follow the next- next based approach".

warm regards,

Ajit P.

Dear Sri Ajit P.

Thank you so very much for the post which naturally goes against the tides!!.

Your post & the concern expressed by you & supported  Dr. Barman reminded me of once famous Bengali Novel named "DRISTIPAT" (meaning to looking at) by Writer Jajabor, Pen name of Binoy Mukhopadhyay.

(There the writer came to Delhi from Calcutta by air in stead of train and expressed his feelings about the journeys by Train and Air while the later was enormously fast & naturally much less time consuming ) commented BIGYAN DIYECHE BEG; KINTU KERE NIYECHE ABEG meaning Science has bestowed us with speed but robbed us of our emotions & sentiments!!

Here in your post I think I have heard the echo of his comments! Thanks for giving me an opportunity for a journey down memory lane!!

Well, coming back to context,it is rather natural as every action has equal & opposite reaction!! The easiest way to brush off Techno-stress is to TAKE-NO-STRESS which, however somewhat difficult but not impossible if we make it a practice. However, coming to this context, I should first explain the  human psychology relating to the issue.

In our profession Computer came in a big way since early ''90s which was followed by the internet through e-mail and database searching; The concept of Digitization is the first dose of 21st. Century!!

Here I must confess openly that the notions for switching over to technology had been quite advantageous & convenient in the perspectives of Time, Accuracy, authenticity, Physical labor and Manpower support. . Those of us who came in the profession in Eighties, had experienced the essence of it. However, the situation started getting complex with further advancements of Internet related activities and specially with introduction of Mobile phones & Social networking in our daily lives. All of a sudden we no longer found time to write letters; to visit our relatives, even writing diaries or reading books, At the same time, we became so senseless & self-possessed that we never bothered to take notice of our surroundings even! In simple word we became lazy, self-centered and detached 

It is a bare fact that the nature strikes back. And naturally, we started loosing our biggest asset of human being, our own intelligence, our memory, our duties & our cultures!! gradually we became so dependent to "gadgets" in our daily lives that if any of them goes wrong, we become exasperate!! We have become so very short-cut oriented that even in education & exams, we prefer the ready-made questions and their ready-made answers, We lost our ability to analyze an issue be it academic,official or personal. We opt to provide weblinks while discussing an issue and refrain from explaining it manually!!  We are losing our intelligence, our children are loosing their intelligence as they are copying our life styles, God knows what is lying ahead for them in their future lives!!

I have mentioned earlier about the Mantra TAKE-NO-STRESS philosophy; here I am explaining it.

We must practice

(a) Reading at least five pages of a printed Book, be it a story or what ever

(b) Remembering at least FIVE things of daily doing. They may be petty things, like buying sugar from the Grocer's shop to send an urgent e-mail to an errand supplier!

(c) Waking up in the morning; do some stretches and any other physical exercise.

(d) Believing in ourselves; assure yourself that you have ability!

(e) Write at least two pages in a diary or exercise book.

(f) Watch less TV and read more paper

(g) Start writing notes on papers for office to circulate.

(h) Avoid calculators for simple calculations.

(i) Fix your time for using computer at home & try to lessen it every week.

(j) Avoid elevators as much possible, try to climb stairs.

(k) Share your thoughts with your colleagues,get out of silo mentality!! and finally

(l) Lough with everybody (but lough at none!); try to enjoy life from its simplest offerings, like in a moon lit night, walk errand for at least 15 minutes.

I understand that writing these iare easy but practicing them is hard baut again, not impossible. so keep faith upon yourself.  Life will be free and again TAKE-NO-Stress!

Greetings on the occasion of festival of lights.

Siddhartha S. Ray, Calcutta

Dear Siddhartha S. Ray Sir,

Thanks for the useful points you have recommended in your reply. "TAKE-NO-STRESS" mantra is a good concept. There was post by ms.raaga some  fews month back which entitled "Are you happy my friends in choosing library profession" and you gave a wonderful answer and explained in detail the meaning of happiness and as somebody  said that, “If you want to be happy then make two people happy; one is your boss at office and other is your wife or mother at home”. Yes I think if we are happy then we can handle our work load and come out as a winner  each day.

warm regards,

Ajit P.

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