Comparison of Burnout Levels of Educators/Teachers in the Pre-Pandemic and Pandemic Periods of Covid-19

Abstract

Evidence suggests that the mental health and psycho-psychopathological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population include an increase in symptoms of anxiety and depression, addictive behaviors, and psychological distress (Osváth, 2021; Galea, Marchant & Lurie, 2020). The prevention and mitigation of negative effects require the development and application of general and specific methods that support mental hygiene. Psychological distress due to the epidemic affects the risk of burnout in helping professionals, as it significantly increases the level of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and reduces the feeling of personal effectiveness (Mion et al, 2021). At the 2021 International Conference on Education and New Developments, we presented our research, in which we involved the staff of the Somogy County Pedagogical Service, mainly special education teachers. The 116-person sample was conducted with a version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory developed for educators (Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educator's Survey) in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period. In our presentation, we present the results of a survey conducted in December 2021 with a large proportion of the study population. Based on our knowledge from the literature, we expected that the level of burnout would increase in the study population, despite the institution's mental hygiene and burnout prevention strategy, but our hypothesis was not confirmed. Subjects achieved the highest scores on the three subscales of the questionnaire in the emotional exhaustion subscale and the lowest scores on the depersonalization subscale in the present study. However, based on their answers to our question, 81% of respondents felt that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on their mental health.