In late March 2023, I wrote a blog post offering my personal reflections on the Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Digital Preservation Community Survey that we had recently launched. If you’d asked me then how long it would be until I wrote my next post, signalling the launch of the findings report, I would have guessed about 6 months. But reality has a habit of getting in the way of best-laid plans and, as I write this now, it’s almost two years later.
This is partly because I’ve had my own mental health ups and downs during this period, including receiving a formal autism diagnosis, which have resulted in the work having to go on hiatus at times. This was not a project to work on when not feeling at your best, as mental resiliency has definitely been required. But it is also because the work itself has been much more involved and time-consuming than I envisioned. I’d say I’ve spent somewhere in the magnitude of 10 times longer on the data analysis and report drafting than I originally estimated. However, given the sensitive nature of the topic and its importance, I’d say that every minute was still well spent.
As for the findings themselves, I doubt there will be anything surprising for readers included within the report. Indeed, it very much confirmed exactly what I thought it would, that those working in digital preservation face a multitude of pressures and stresses that are having a significant impact on their mental health and wellbeing. But that’s enough spoilers though, you’ll have to read the full report for more details…
However, despite the data confirming what was expected, there is also something particularly impactful about seeing it all laid out as cold, hard facts. I think everyone who has read it so far has had to take some time to reflect on and process some of the starker statistics included. And it is worth bearing in mind that this is also with the “averaging” effect that comes with this type of research. Some of the specific stories shared by respondents absolutely broke my heart, and I just want to say to them that while you might feel alone, please know there are people out here that care about you and your experiences. I feel privileged that you entrusted your stories to me, and I will guard them well.
Indeed, I am inordinately grateful to everyone who was brave enough to respond to the survey (although I also totally understand why there were those who felt they couldn’t take the risk of exposure). I hope that many will find the results vindicating, and that they will help them with advocacy for both themselves and their digital preservation work. With this use in mind, we have also published the Executive Summary of the report as a standalone publication in the hope it will make those in senior positions more likely to read it.
It is important to also note that this research represents just a first step. Now that we have a baseline understanding of mental health and wellbeing experiences in the digital preservation community, we can hopefully start work to combat some of the issues and impacts highlighted by the report. This has already been tabled as a key discussion topic for the next meeting of the DPC’s Workforce Development Sub-Committee.
Finally, as I sit here on the long-awaited day of publication of this work, I want to say again how privileged I feel to have had the opportunity to undertake this research. It means a great deal to me on a personal level, and while it has, at times, been hard to work on, I will be forever grateful that the DPC has been willing to support this project. I hope that I can continue to help build the path to being more open and supportive of mental health and wellbeing in our community for many years to come.
Visit our page on Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Digital Preservation Community to find the report and accompanying resources.