The COVID-19 pandemic and teachers’ work: perceptions of teachers from a public university in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic required the restructuring of educational models, including the rapid transition from face-to-face to remote education. The aim of this qualitative research was to understand the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on undergraduate professors’ work and health at a public university in the state of São Paulo. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 undergraduate faculty of humanities, biological and exact sciences form August to September 2020. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. From the content analysis, four thematic categories emerged: (1) changes in the work routine and their impacts, including adjustment to remote work and the difficulties in establishing boundaries between work and their personal life; (2) changes in the dynamics between faculty and students and the possibility of rethinking teaching practice; (3) the relationship between faculty and the university with emphasis on the decision-making process, support for the transition to remote teaching, and concerns about the quality of teaching; and (4) anguish and fears related to the pandemic that added to the set of work-related stressors. Our findings showed that actions towards the communicational dynamics, as well as actions towards faculties’ mental health should be implemented.

Analysis of Fatigue Among Nurse Educators in Brazilian Public Universities During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…In this study, constructs 1 and 7 obtained the highest means (1.53 and 1.66, respectively) among the participants, showing that they identify physical and mental exhaustion during and at the end of the workday. One mixed methodology study 19 addressing educators affiliated with a public university from different fields of knowledge shows that the participants related work overload with feelings of loneliness, fear, anguish, and sadness, lack of motivation to perform work tasks and teach classes in a virtual environment.…”

“…Additionally, they may have poor physical condition, characterized by stiff shoulders, back pain, heavy breathing, thirst, and dizziness 13 . Such a fact may be related to a lack of experience or the necessary infrastructure, which often requires educators to spend much more time preparing for online teaching, particularly to create an environment where students can interact freely 19 .…”

“…A significant difference was found between working hours (8 hours/day; 8h and 12 hours/day; more than 12 hours/day) and the physical, mental, and emotional fatigue dimensions. This whole process also caused an increase in these professionals' workload for preparing classes, videos, assessments, and providing guidance 19 . The participants also mentioned that situations constantly changed during the pandemic, making planning the next day or week challenging 20 .…”

“…Many had to share their work environments with vulnerable family members and teach their children 5,20 . Thus, the participants had to reconcile social distancing and online teaching while keeping an emotional balance and maintaining good physical, mental, and financial health like the remaining population 19,20 .…”

“…Although for some, the social distancing measures meant an opportunity to be with their families, some studies 6,19 show that mothers working from home faced difficulties reconciling work and family within the same environment. During the critical phase of the pandemic, this situation is related to excessive working hours, as family and social lives became almost inexistent, causing uncertainty, frustration, emotional and mental fatigue, anxiety, stress, and depression 25 .…”