Anxiety, negative affect, and stress of faculty in remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Emergency remote pedagogical work was implemented in many schools in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic, as a way to reduce contacts between individuals and, consequently, reduce the rate of disease transmission, maintaining classes and educational activities. In many situations, teachers and teachers carried out activities that mischaracterize their teaching identity and conflict with domestic activities, producing discomfort and suffering. In a two-phase cohort study, the psychological suffering of Basic Education teachers were analyzed as a function of the amount of remote work, gender, the amount of housework and previous experience. Emergency remote work had effects on State Anxiety, Negative Affect and Perceived Stress − and these responses were moderated by previous experience. Women had higher responses than men, an effect mediated mainly by the amount of housework performed by the teacher. Participants mainly referred to negative work dimensions and affective dimensions when led to think about remote work, with less saturation of answers related to positive work dimensions, learning and political-economic issues. These results suggest that emergency remote work exacerbates teacher stress, pointing to the precariousness of teaching work and the need to implement policies that mitigate these impacts.

Keywords:
COVID-19; remote pedagogical work; emergency remote work; psychological suffering; job precariousness