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Thursday, May 15
The Four Generations In Your Workplace
by
Jason
on Thu 15 May 2008 10:37 PM CST
As I may have mentioned before, the younger me would probably punch the older me in the mush if he could see how much management theory I'd be reading (and enjoying  ) at this point in my life. To me, one of the most interesting aspects of management theory today is the interplay between different generations.
This article has one of the most succinct set of definitions that I've seen for the defining characteristics for each of the four generations that are currently in the workplace.
Wikipedia also has a comprehensive chart listing every American generation going back to 1843 based on the work of Strauss and Howe.
Their theory is that there are four generational archetypes that repeat sequentially - Prophets, Nomads, Heroes and Artists. Interesting stuff.
Monday, April 14
Library Job Sites
by
Jason
on Mon 14 Apr 2008 03:59 PM CST
Where do you go to look for library job sites? Here are some sites
I've seen. All are free for job seekers to search but some charge
employers for posting ads (which means they may not get the range of
postings that you'd expect.) Foothills Library Association (http://www.fla.org/jobline.html)-
by far, my favourite job board. Focused on western Canada, has an RSS
feed, doesn't charge employers to post ads (but encourages them to buy
a $25 annual membership to support the volunteer-run board) so they
have lots of ads from all types of libraries rather than the other ones
I list below which seem to only have listings from big libraries with budgets
for recruiting people. This also forces institutions to choose - one might post to the Partnership while another might post to CLA - but not both which means you're forced to monitor both boards. The Partnership Job Board (www.libraryjobs.ca)- Members of provincial and territorial library associations pay $50 for two weeks, non-members $75 to post an adCLA Job Board (www.cla.ca - select "Library Careers" from menu)
- pricing ranges from $175 - $300 for 30 daysMost of the library schools in Canada have job boards and allow employers to post for free so they're an underrated resource for job seekers: SIM (Dalhousie, Halifax - no job board but has career and employment resources)SIS (McGill, Montreal - no job board)FIS (University of Toronto, Toronto) FIMS (University of Western Ontario, London)SLIS (University of Alberta, Edmonton - no job board)SLAIS (University of British Columbia, Vancouver - no job board)Obviously, the jobs section of the web site for any institution you are interested in applying to is a good place to keep an eye on.There
are probably also job boards for the library tech programs across
Canada, job boards targeted at specific areas of librarianship (the Special Libraries
Association has a job board, there's probably one for health science librarians, etc.). There are also the "big" job sites like monster.ca that post a range of jobs including the occasional one requiring an MLIS or others that might be of interest to MLS grads...but I'm not going to search out all of those!  Governments of all sizes tends have good job boards. Here's the Government of Canada's job site. Most provinces has similar sites
as do larger municipalities. These types of sites might not have
MLIS-specific jobs but could have others in a related area that
appeals to you.
Finally, a general Google search on some variation of "library jobs Canada" can lead to other aggregators and sources.
Where have I missed?
Wednesday, April 2
Top Five Reasons Why "The Customer Is Always Right" Is Wrong
by
Jason
on Wed 02 Apr 2008 07:39 PM CST
Part of the reason that some librarians prefer to call patrons "customers" is that they believe in ideas such as "the customer is always right". But here's a good list of Five Reasons Why “The Customer is Always Right” is Wrong. We run more than 3 million people through our books every month. One or
two of those people are going to be unreasonable, demanding jerks. When
it’s a choice between supporting your employees, who work with you
every day and make your product what it is, or some irate jerk who
demands a free ticket to Paris because you ran out of peanuts, whose
side are you going to be on?
Saturday, January 19
Most Progressive Professions?
by
Jason
on Sat 19 Jan 2008 09:38 AM CST
There's a range within any profession of course (I knew an emerging writer in Alberta who wanted to run for the Canadian Alliance) but since librarians are one group that, for the most part, tends towards the progressive side of the spectrum, I was wondering which other groups/professions fit this criteria where the large majority of their members would be considered progressive/liberal/enlightened/lefty/socialist in their attitudes and approach to life? Right at the top of the list, I'd put artists (writers, musicians, actors, dancers, etc.) as a fairly obvious choice.
University professors are another group that's often cited as being very progressive in general.Librarians are right up there as I mentioned (I can't remember where I saw it but I think there was a report showing professors donated 10:1 for John Kerry over GW Bush in the 2004 election but librarians donated 100:1 for Kerry.)Journalists probably fit here as well. (What's the line - "yes, there's a liberal bias in the media. Unfortunately, there's a conservative bias the boardroom above them.")And the whole reason I thought of making this list is there's a group that doesn't spring to mind as a progressive profession but increasingly, are at the forefront of a a lot of positive social changes.Conversely, which professions are the most conservative in general? Business people. Politicians (I'd argue that even the ones belonging to progressive parties are often fairly conservative just because of the bureaucratic structure within which politics works.) Although there are some brilliant exceptions, I think I'd put teachers in this category as well.
And finally, which professions are nearly evenly split? Doctors. Farmers. Bloggers. 
Who'd I miss?
Tuesday, January 15
We're Number 10, We're Number 10! (The World's Happiest Countries)
by
Jason
on Tue 15 Jan 2008 09:24 AM CST
BusinessWeek has done an analysis to determine the relatively abstract notion of which countries are the happiest.
As you go through the blurbs, it's revealing that one of my own personal "when I am king" theories is highly represented as a criterion for a happy society - free post-secondary education. (Click through the arrows on the top right of the linked page to see the blurbs for all countries as well as some very nice pictures.)1. Denmark 2. Switzerland3. Austria4. Iceland5. Bahamas6. Finland7. Sweden8. Bhutan9. Brunei 10. Canada11. Ireland12. Luxembourg
(via Reddit)
Thursday, December 6
Wall Street to Costco: "Stop Treating Your Employees So Well"
by
Jason
on Thu 06 Dec 2007 09:24 PM CST
If you're doing your Christmas shopping over the next few weeks, why not consider Costco aka "The anti-Wal-mart"? Their unique practices as a retailer - paying employees a living wage, offering generous benefits, customer-friendly return policies - has led to low employee turnover, a wealthier clientele in general and continued growth while competitors such as Wal-mart, Target and others see stagnant growth or even declines.Costco's corporate culture (like others such as WestJet, Google and so on) reminded me of a blog post I read recently which said that, in essence, the entire history of management theory comes down to two schools of thought: Between them, Taylor (management as the rational analysis of numbers) and Mayo (management as the humanistic art of influencing people) carved up the world of
management theory. According to my scientific sampling, you can save
yourself from reading about 99 percent of all the management literature
once you master this dialectic between rationalists and humanists. The
Taylorite rationalist says: Be efficient! The Mayo-ist humanist
replies: Hey, these are people we’re talking about! And the debate goes
on. Ultimately, it’s just another installment in the ongoing saga of
reason and passion, of the individual and the group.
Here are a selection of Costco related stories that have been posted on Reddit if you want to read more about one of the world's most effective, successful retailers.
Sunday, October 28
Are You A Talent, A Lifer or a Mandarin?
by
Jason
on Sun 28 Oct 2007 09:21 PM CST
Here's another online personality test. As with any of these types of things, you can take issue with some of the questions and how they are open to interpretation in different ways but it's still fun to see if it matches with how you see yourself. For instance, I'm kinda surprised at how well-balanced I appear to be. 
(from Julie M.)
I'm a Talent!  You're a risk-taker, and you follow your passions. You're determined to take on the world and succeed on your own terms. Whether in the arts, science, engineering, business, or politics, you fearlessly express your own vision of the world. You're not afraid of a fight, and you're not afraid to bet your future on your own abilities. If you find a job boring or stifling, you're already preparing your resume. You believe in doing what you love, and you're not willing to settle for an ordinary life. Talent: 54%
Lifer: 33%
Mandarin: 44%
Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.
Sunday, October 21
Some Thoughts On My Future Retirement
by
Jason
on Sun 21 Oct 2007 08:30 PM CST
My mom retired this year after 33 years as a registered nurse - three years in Regina, four years off to have kids then thirty years at the Indian Head Union Hospital. Shea, Pace and I went to the local health district's annual long service & retirement tea (well, actually "dessert bar" so I wasn't complaining!) and watching all the 25 and 30+ year tenure people walk across the stage made me wonder if there will even be these types of ceremonies in thirty years?
My generation (the X'ers) is well-known to have a generational characteristic that we don't stay in jobs very long. I've been in the workforce for ten years since convocating with my BA in 1997 and have had four jobs since then. When you consider that one of those years was spent in Li'l London doing my Masters, that's a pretty short time frame per job. And I don't think I'm terribly out-of-line with many of my contemporaries.
From the above article:
In general, Generation X employees are
those between the age of 19-34.
Unlike their parents and grandparents, Generation X employees do not plan on
staying with one job or company throughout their career, nor will they sacrifice
their family for their job.
I had a funny image of myself attending some public library function at some point in the future: "Jason Hammond is our longest serving employee having spent the last five years in our collection development department. Mr. Hammond, here is your silver wristwatch. Congratulations on your dedication, service and commitment to our library!"
I recently read (and enjoyed - whereas my younger self woud've punched my current self in the mush for even picking up this book) "Motivating the "What's In It For Me" Workforce: How To Manage Across the Generational Divide and Increase Profits" which, once you got past the business/corporate/profit theme, provided a decent overview of the inter-generational conflicts that can occur in today's workplaces which may contain up to four generations - the Matures, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y (aka Millenials/Net Generation) with the middle two groups making up the bulk of the current workforce.
Also from the above article, some insight into how my generation differs from the one that came before it:
Generation X employees tend to be less
motivated by promises of overtime pay and more motivated by personal
satisfaction with their jobs. They want to grow in their jobs and learn new
skills. They will change jobs often as they seek jobs that offers them both
better benefits and more opportunity for professional growth as well as personal
fulfillment.
Generation X employees want, and
expect, their employers to hear what they have to say. They want to understand
the “big picture” for the company and how this influences their employment
and growth. They are creative thinkers, independent, results oriented and bring
with them a healthy dose of skepticism. So is there a grand unifier? One characteristic that all generations share? I'm not sure but I think it's a love of silver wristwatches.
Tuesday, October 16
Your Salary
by
Jason
on Tue 16 Oct 2007 06:27 PM CST
This site is pretty cool. It gives you a visual depiction of what your salary is on a hourly/weekly/yearly basis and even shows a ticker of how much money you earn as you look at the page (especially fun if you look at it while at work!)In other work-related news, I wore a cardigan to the office today. Un-ironically.
Sunday, September 23
Some Thoughts on the Four Day Work Week
by
Jason
on Sun 23 Sep 2007 08:12 PM CST
A few recent conversations and readings have swirled together to make me want to write about the four day work week. I should mention off the bat that I was very fortunate when I worked for the Saskatchewan Publishers Group to be on a four-day schedule (all three employees in the organization were) so these comments come from experience of how a four-day work week can operate in reality. One of the things that prompted my musings was seeing an article on how Google treats its employees. Google does a number of progressive things in terms of their workplace but arguably the most progressive of all is allowing employees to spend 1/5 of their time on personal projects. Although not technically, the same as a four-day work week, in many ways this would be the same for all intents and purposes because the employees, with very little restriction, get to work on anything they want. The downside is that Google owns the product if it becomes profitable. I believe Google News and Orkut (which is their social networking site and is the second most popular in the world although barely known in North America) as well as many other Google services came about because of this 80/20 program. But overall, one of the big draws for people coming to Google is the opportunity to explore their own ideas rather than those of their bosses and supervisors. Would something similar work in libraries which are public institutions and not dedicated creating new products or increasing profits? Well, that's another thing that led me to this post. Shea recently got an e-mail updating her on a project that her floor at the hospital was the second workplace in Canada to participate in. Called the "Human Becoming" study, it was a project where "nurses spend 80% of their salaried time in direct patient care and 20% of their salaried time on professional development" (which, as with Google, is fairly loosely defined. They want you to do nursing-related PD of course but some of Shea's colleagues were apparently doing things like taking an art class or whatever to make them better, more well-rounded human beings and therefore, better employees.) The full results of the study from the first test site (which I believe was a Toronto hospital) are here. (PDF)I should also note that Shea unfortunately wasn't able to participate in the study because we were heading to London just as it was being brought to her floor at the hospital.
Anyhow, the study, both in the original location and on Shea's floor, have provided results that I think are to be expected - morale was higher among staff, patients felt better treated, there was an extremely low turnover among participants (including *zero* turnover in year two of the study which is unheard of in the nursing world) and so on. So could something like this work in libraries? Of course - it's just a matter of people (the librarians, the trustees and other decision-makers) having the will to make it happen. In my mind, I always link three female-dominated service professions - nursing, teaching and librarianship - as being fairly similar in many ways. But for whatever reason, librarianship seems to be behind the other two in terms of having progressive workplace options. (I should also add a Hammond disclaimer (tm) that this is only a general impression I have and that I haven't had exposure to a lot of library systems' internal operating policies to know if this is something that happens in libraries across Canada, large and small.)
I should also clarify - I'm speaking mainly of public librarianship when I say this. In fact, I recently had a conversation with an academic librarian who admitted that because she was hired in the summer when many academic libraries are on much slower schedules or shut down completely, she got her first paycheque two weeks after being officially "hired" without having worked a single shift. Talk about progressive - getting paid without working! Anyhow, here's a few examples of some of the options that one of these three professions has that librarianship doesn't. It's from the nursing world as that's the one I'm most familiar with (Shea's a nurse, my mom is a nurse as are two of my aunts.) Within nursing, there are all sorts of options for lines (ie. positions) that run from full-time every variation from 4/5, 3/5, 2/5 right down to 1/5 time. Beyond that, some nurses choose to work only night shifts. Some work 12 hour shifts. Some work 8 hour shifts. Many job share a single full-time position. And so on. Of course, some of these are a reflection of the type of work that nurses do (not too many librarians are going to only work night shifts since not too many libraries are open all night.) But you get my drift. I don't know as much about the teaching world but we're all familiar with the biggie - two months off every summer. That's on top of 2-3 weeks at Christmas and a week at Easter along with a number of in-service days and so on. Now before any teachers out there jump on me for making the "teachers don't work very hard" argument, that's not what I'm doing at all. Teachers work damn hard when they are working. But they do also have a number of benefits, especially in terms of time off that would be the envy of somebody working at a "regular" job (M-F year round with 3-4 weeks off per year total as opposed to the 10 or so weeks that teachers get.) What else inspired this post? Oh, I saw a blog post on "The Four Day Work Week: 16 Reasons This Is An Idea Whose Time Has Come" I think this guy is making the claim that we should move to four 10-hour days per week which isn't what I'm saying at all. But still, many of those sixteen reasons apply if you're talking about simply lopping one day off your regular work week - a four day work weeks gives you more time with family, less consumption of non-renewable resources, and an INCREASE in productivity. (What? Yep, it's true. I'm sure studies have been done but I know anecdotally that when I worked very similar jobs in Saskatchewan for four days per week and Alberta for five, I felt equally productive. Of course, part of this was the Sask one was 32 hours per week and the Alberta one was 35 so the difference wasn't so great. But still, I would think many of us would find that we were nearly productive if we came into work for four days per week instead of five, knowing that for those four days we would be more rested, energized, alert and so on. As this blogger quotes in his article:"In 1930 famed cereal maker W.K. Kellog had this to say about his
decision to decrease his companies work week from 40 to 30 hours.
The efficiency and morale of our employees is so increased, the
accident and insurance rates are so improved, and the unit cost of
production is so lowered that we can afford to pay as much for six
hours as we formerly paid for eight." Many people seem to just assume that the five day, eight hour day work week is the way the world works. But I think there is a natural progression - our great grandparents probably worked six days a week for 10-12 hours per day. It was only during the last century that the standard forty-hour week came into existence. Now that a new century is here, perhaps the time is ripe to make another leap as a society?
The final part of this post that would've been a nice summary of what I'm talking about was a cartoon I came across on Reddit. But I didn't save it at the time and can't find it again so you'll have to live with me describing it to you.
The first panel shows a harried businessman with a briefcase marching along with the blurb "Time = Money" rising above his head.
The second panel shows a gravestone with a briefcase beside it and the inscription "Time > Money".
The point is this: no matter how much you love your job, there are more important things in life - time with your family or even just with yourself to do the things you love to do or need to do. And a four day work week is a perfect way to give you more time for the important things in life.
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