This is Depressing: The Emotional Labor of Teaching During the Pandemic Spring 2020

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic affected teachers and students worldwide. In March 2020, more than 5,000 teachers reported feeling overwhelmed, sad, fearful, anxious, and worried. We evaluated those feelings through the lens of emotional labor using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Results indicated that professors were experiencing signs of emotional exhaustion as the result of surface acting—the disconnect they felt between trying to reassure and support students when they themselves felt sad and anxious. Results supported findings from several student and teacher surveys regarding stress and COVID-19. It also supported prior research that found gender differences in extent of emotional labor.

Teacher technostress and coping mechanisms during Covid-19 pandemic: A systematic review

“…Worse, the problem of technostress is forcing female instructors to work longer hours than before. Many respondents indicated difficulties balancing homeschooling children while also teaching remotely (Auger, & Formentin 2021;Hong et al 2021;Kim, & Asbury 2020). In addition, educators who reported taking care of their own children reported higher levels of perceived stress (Košir et al, 2020).…”

“…As the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health took immediate action by closing down schools for the time being until the situation is stable, one of the most immediate changes induced by COVID-19 was the broad cancelling of in-person classes (Vatier et al, 2021). This situation has made educators anxious as they need to cater to various students' needs, while making sure all students have their own study room (Auger & Formentin, 2021). As reported by Abid et al (2021), students from underprivileged areas were adversely affected when emergency eLearning was implemented (Petrakova et al, 2021;Uzun et al, 2021).…”

“…Limited devices such as using their parent's smartphone also affect the teaching and learning process. Even teachers' concern is doubled when students need to access their online class from parking lots or coffee shops to get better Wi-Fi connections (Auger & Formentin, 2021).…”

“…Gadgets and electronic devices are not the only source of stress for teachers; even the internet connection and use of technology has also made teachers stressed about online learning. Recent studies have shown that stress levels are higher among teachers than in many other occupational groups (Auger & Formentin, 2021;Petrakova et al, 2021;Pozo-Rico et al, 2020). Since the change, teachers have also been facing technostress (Hasan, 2020).…”

Time to Return to Normal? I Sure Hope Not

“…Today, we may be back in the classroom but are masked and living with vaccine mandates. The past 2 years have been marked for teachers, at all levels, by a rise in anxiety, stress, depression, and burnout (Auger & Formentin, 2021; McMurtrie, 2020; Ozamiz-Etxebarria et al, 2021). Through these challenging past 2 years, I am sure that many of us have lamented, “I just want everything to go back to normal.”…”