CASE STUDY: No Free Lunch

"We shouldn't be surprised," answered Ethel Clark. "He does it every time." The two librarians glared through angry eyes as Meehan, head of special collections at the Thursby Public Library, heaped additional cake and cookies on his plate and wrapped his bony fingers around a second cup of the gassy wine. Meehan was joined by John Medollo, head of reference, who also helped himself freely to food and drink.

"He's another one," Dudek said around a mouthful of cake. "Stuffs his fat face without ever chipping in a nickel."

"I don't understand some people," Clark said, "I swear I don't."

"Me neither."

"Who's this one now?" Clark inquired, pointing her chin toward a woman who grabbed a plate and walked away as quickly as she came.

"I don't know. Must be new."

"It's like feeding the homeless around here. You put out some food, and strangers come out of the woodwork," Clark said.

"It's getting late," said Dudek, glancing at her watch. "I'm going to get moving. See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Mary."

The next morning found Dudek and Clark together again behind the desk. "I was ripping all night over those freeloaders," said Dudek. "I'm tired of this happening all the time, and I'm going to say something to Rosalie about it."

"You think we should?" asked Clark

"I'm going to," Dudek said.

The two conspirators made an appointment with Rosalie Fernandez, the library's director, for that afternoon. At the appropriate time, they were shuttled into Fernandez's office by her assistant, Joan Braddon.

"What can I help you with, ladies?" Fernandez asked cordially over her desk.

"Well, you see," Dudek began, "we had a birthday party for Betty Hickox yesterday."

"Yes, I got the invite," Fernandez said. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it. I had a previous engagement. I gave Joan some money to give you."

"We got it, thank you. And that is why we're here. Every time we have one of these little get-togethers for someone on the staff, everyone who wants to attend is supposed to pitch in either with money or by bringing something. I don't have to tell you that the city doesn't provide anything for us."

"It's just not in the budget," Fernandez acknowledged.

"That's fine," Dudek said. She was nervous and spoke quickly. "I'm not complaining about that, but when we have cake and coffee or something for a birthday or whatever, there are always the same people who say they can't make it and contribute nothing yet show up anyway. They eat and drink even though they haven't shelled out anything to help pay for it. Most of them are in managerial positions and make more money than we do. It's just not right."

"Have you said anything to them about it?" inquired Fernandez.

"As I said, most of them are managers so…," Dudek began.

"I realize this seems pretty minor, Rosalie," said Clark, jumping in. "But these parties are supposed to build morale, not be a detriment to it. Is there anything you can do?

By Clara Mounce, Community Librarian, Bryan + College Station Public Library System, Bryan, TX

Dudek and Clark have confronted Director Fernandez by informing her of the behavior of several librarians who make a practice of eating and drinking at staff parties but never contribute to the costs of these affairs. Two library managers, Bernie Meehan, head of special collections, and John Medollo, head of reference, say they can't make it to the party but come anyway, without contributing, according to the observations of Dudek and Clark.

The director has at least two choices. She can elect to call in the two managing librarians and relate to them the comments of some staff members, which might solve the issue. Or she can ask the complainants what they would do under the circumstances and then assign the librarians to take an informal survey of staff about the "party policy."

Fernandez should give the librarians a deadline to return with the results of the poll. Assuming that most of the replies will be in favor of making contributions, Fernandez should then assign the librarians the task of putting the policy in writing. This written "party policy" should make it very clear that participants are expected to contribute money or food.

In the event that the survey shows Dudek and Clark are the only ones who are perturbed about the freeloaders, other options arise. Some staff may believe that there will always be some people who don't feel an obligation to contribute, so perhaps the librarians should recommend doing away with refreshments. Certainly serving champagne to staff while on duty is not advisable.

The "party committee" could create a computer-generated birthday card and circulate it for heartfelt staff greetings and let it go at that. Some directors probably realize it takes a lot of staff time to organize a birthday recognition for an individual and you expect that this party is on "company time," so staffing of public stations suffers.

If the party is truly thought of as a morale booster, are we overlooking an important question—do Meehan and Medollo circulate at the party and make sincere remarks to the birthday person? Do they help clean up afterward?

A practice of a monthly observance for all birthdays is likely to be acceptable to all staff. Perhaps Meehan and Medollo have never organized a staff party. Assign the freeloaders to head the next party committee to plan and carry out the function. It will either be a success or a failure, but either way the grumbling librarians will have made their point.

By Kathleen Perinoff, Assistant Director, Palm Beach County Library System, FL

Fernandez will want to avoid assuming ownership of a problem that her employees are capable of handling. She will remind herself that anytime her staff come to her with a problem, and she takes it away from them, she is telling them that they are not capable.

First, empathy is in order. Fernandez will recognize that Dudek and Clark have put a lot of effort into hosting these celebrations. She will acknowledge their aggravation that others do not always live up to their expectations.

She may also share her own experience that, when the poor behavior of a few begins to color her attitude about a whole project, she regards it as a sign that she has taken on too much and it may be time to lessen the load. Luckily, in this case, the work—as appreciated as it is—is optional. Her staff have the option of doing only as much as they truly enjoy. Morale, as they have pointed out, is important—theirs, too.

Fernandez will ask the two women questions only they can answer. What is it they hope these gatherings will accomplish? Do they feel that the time and effort these celebrations take benefit the library? Are they worth the aggravation?

If so, Fernandez will assure them that they have the experience and expertise to come up with solutions. Solutions should be consistent with the purpose of the celebrations, i.e., they will further the cause of amity among all staff, even the misguided.

Depending on her level of confidence in Dudek and Clark's ability to develop sound solutions consistent with the rules of etiquette, their assumed roles as hosts, and the purpose of the celebration, Fernandez will direct them either to come up with solutions and advise her afterward about what action they've taken, or to work up the ideas on their own and report back to her with options they would like to pursue.

In either case, given their jaundiced view of certain employees, Fernandez may want to coach them on problem solving. This dialog will take the form of questions she would like them to consider.

Is it possible that not everyone knows what is expected of guests? Are there options for participation that would make it more convenient to contribute? Are there ways to celebrate that would appeal only to those who truly want to express their fondness for the celebrant, such as after-work or off-site gatherings? How can the time spent organizing these celebrations be kept to a minimum? Are the refreshments offered in accordance with library policy? Having clarified Dudek and Clark's assignment, Fernandez will conclude the meeting.

What she should not do is propose solutions. If there is a more thankless pursuit than being the habitual organizer of employee birthday celebrations it has to be offering solutions to those who are sure to have very definite opinions of their own about how things should be done.