COVID Academic Pandemic: Techno Stress Faced by Teaching Staff for Online Academic Activities

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of the teachers, specifically the techno stress arising in them as a result of issues faced by them in the use of technology when they conduct the online academic activities. It aims to assess the major factors related to the online teaching that specifically adds to techno stress on the teachers during the COVID-19 outbreak. Finally, the study aims to provide suggestions to the policymakers and the management of the universities so that the effect of the COVID-19's on teachers' mental health and the related techno stress can be reduced. This paper is a literature review of the articles on the notion of techno stress on teachers and their mental health by searching the related articles with these terminologies using the renowned search engines of Google Scholar and Web of Science. A combination of the terms such as Coronavirus, COVID-19, mental health, psychological distress, techno stress, and online teaching were used in the article search for the review. The literature has suggested that the COVID-19 outbreak has significantly affected the mental health of the employees in general and specifically, the teachers who are engaged in online academic activities and teaching in the universities. The paper has identified a few factors that are the cause of the techno stress and provides recommendations for the university management and the policy makers for minimizing their negative impact on the teachers, in terms of the techno stress and their mental health. Coronavirus is a new strain of the viruses that has badly engulfed the entire population of the world. It is even now badly rising and causing deaths while this article is in the writing phase. The article has addressed the mental health concerns of the university teachers as they are now working from home using ICT for delivering the lectures and conducting the online teaching and learning activities for the students at their universities. This is a matter of grave importance now and requires immediate attention. Hence, this article broadens the scope of the research on the corona virus and its impact on the university teachers.

Role of agile leadership in managing inter-role conflicts for a satisfying job and life during COVID-19 in a VUCA world

“…During the times of uncertainty like never before, the need to protect and assist family (family demands) and the need to be an effective employee (job demands) at the same time led to a confused workforce. The role stress increased as job demands became more and more ambiguous ( Liyanagunawardena and Williams, 2021 ; Zheng et al, 2022 ). Employees lacked the ability to immediately switch to the online mode due to a declared education emergency ending up with “technostress” among Pakistani faculty members.…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on education systems worldwide, affecting approximately 1.6 billion students in over 200 nations. More than 94% of the world’s student population has been affected by the closure of schools, institutions, and other learning facilities ( Zheng et al, 2022 ). The pandemic has affected the faculty in these educational institutes as much as it has affected students worldwide, resulting in significant changes in every part of personal and professional lives ( Pokhrel and Chhetri, 2021 ; Zheng et al, 2022 ).…”

“…More than 94% of the world’s student population has been affected by the closure of schools, institutions, and other learning facilities ( Zheng et al, 2022 ). The pandemic has affected the faculty in these educational institutes as much as it has affected students worldwide, resulting in significant changes in every part of personal and professional lives ( Pokhrel and Chhetri, 2021 ; Zheng et al, 2022 ). As many “new normal” emerged ( Zacher and Rudolph, 2021 ), a pandora box of new challenges for employees in terms of change adaption, job satisfaction, and a significant impact on employee well-being and happiness is unlocked ( Nemteanu et al, 2021 ; Antino et al, 2022 ).…”

Stress, Coping and Considerations of Leaving the Profession—A Cross-Sectional Online Survey of Teachers and School Principals after Two Years of the Pandemic

“…Technical infrastructure and support as well as online learning material need to be improved—both for pupils and teachers. This would likely address most of the above-mentioned points as well as the aforementioned techno stress [ 11 ]. Another point is that due to the still ongoing pandemic, there are many infections among teachers and pupils.…”

“…It was found that teachers experienced higher levels of stress than other occupational groups, which added to the already high levels of job-related stress, and that their quality of life decreased [ 9 ]. Those who worked remotely, reported more stress than those who taught in-person [ 10 ], which can be explained by the so-called ‘techno stress’, which includes being forced to expand abilities to use technology as well as working without social contacts [ 11 ]. In one study, 76.7% of the participants reported an increase in burnout during the pandemic [ 12 ], and in another, 58% had seriously considered leaving their job [ 13 ].…”