Abstract
School closures, lockdowns, and social distancing were implemented in most countries worldwide as a preventive measure to curb the further spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, causing an unprecedent disruption of education, affecting more than 90% of the school population worldwide (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2020). Global school closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented risk to children’s education, protection, and well-being. With the COVID-19 pandemic now well into its third year, safely reopening schools has become an ongoing priority. Of course, schools are also workplaces. As such, schools are subject to labor laws and health and safety regulations.
The teaching profession is a highly stressed job. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools were highly stressed work environments. Subsequently, the pandemic impacted the mental health of students, families and the teachers (Ozamiz-Etxebarria et al., 2021). A high level of stress is associated with poor health outcomes, such as burnout and psychological distress (Johnson et al., 2005).
In a recent article published in this journal, Mopkins clarifies the concept of Workplace Psychological Distress (WPD) and promotes the use of the term in occupational health nursing research (Mopkins, 2022). She identified the consequences of WPD such as mental disorders, physical disorders, and loss in productivity. This article applied this important concept in the context of school settings as a workplace. School teachers experience higher psychological distress levels than other workers from the general population (Titheradge et al., 2019) including WPD. This is consistent with findings of Ozamiz-Etxebarria et al. (2021) who found that levels of depression, anxiety, and stress were experienced by teachers at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021) and how this symptomatology was affected by the sector in which they work (pre-school, primary, secondary, vocational, or university education) along with their job stability.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we work. For example, online or remote work such as the use of technology and videoconferencing were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fear and anxiety about this new disease and other strong emotions can be overwhelming, and workplace stress can lead to burnout. As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread social distancing policies, remote working (hybrid) has increased, and many schools and workplaces have started to use new digital applications. These changes may lead to increases in workplace stress and anxiety. Consequently, is a need to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the mental well-being of teachers (Parthasarathy et al., 2022). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2022) identified the symptoms of stress in workplaces during the COVID-19 pandemic such as: feeling irritation, anger, or in denial; feeling uncertain, nervous, or anxious; lacking motivation; feeling tired, overwhelmed, or burned out; feeling sad or depressed; having trouble sleeping; and having trouble concentrating. Workplace stress management and mental health programs are suggested to support teachers to mitigate pandemic impact (Parthasarathy et al., 2022),
There is an urgent need to safeguard the mental health of teachers to improve the quality of teaching, research and community engagements. First, the World Health Organization (WHO, 2021) calls for immediate and concrete action to protect the well-being of teachers in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO (2021) provides a guide for educators to better support the mental health needs of their students and to take practical steps that are implementable in school settings. Those involved in the educational process including teachers, school administrators, nurse social workers, and school counselors should provide additional guidelines in addressing WPD. Second, we need to protect the mental health and well-being of our teachers during the global pandemic and post-pandemic (Corpuz, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has long-lasting implications for worker well-being, satisfaction, and productivity. Given the scenario of school reopening in the “new normal,” school teachers should address “school reopening anxiety” and “back to work anxiety.” Taking care of the mental health of teachers directly affects their capacity to fully serve their students. Third, there is a need to address the dilemmas of wearing or not wearing a face masks in indoor classroom and offices, the importance of vaccination for the protection of the public and addressing the mental health concerns of both students and teachers. Considerable attention to addressing the concerns of the vulnerable groups could improve their well-being during and after this pandemic (Corpuz, 2022). As highlighted by Mopkins (2022), identifying signs of WPD is of great importance in caring for employees in the workplace. There are some glimmers of hope as we move forward from this pandemic.
