Teachers’ Emotional Burnout, Psychological Detachment from Work and Self-Reported Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The outbreak of the COVID-19 infection has created unprecedented changes in the education system. The emotional burnout of teachers increased during the pandemic, unfavourably affecting their physical and mental health. In this context, teachers’ ability to psychologically detach themselves from work to recharge is of special relevance. Research about the quality of teachers’ professional life and emotional burnout during the pandemic is not sufficient. Therefore, the aim of the current research is to investigate the relationship between teachers’ emotional burnout, their psychological detachment from work, and self-reported health during the pandemic, involving teachers working both face-to-face and remotely. The sample consisted of 506 teachers, with the majority aged from 2−64 years, of whom 472 were female and 34 were male. Of these, 269 teachers worked mainly face-to-face, whereas 237 worked in a hybrid form or mainly remotely. Data were collected from October to December 2021 during periods of varying restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The respondents completed the Teachers’ Burnout and Teachers’ Self-Perceived Health scale, designed for the Erasmus+ project “Teaching to Be: Supporting Teachers’ Professional Growth and Wellbeing in the Field of Social and Emotional Learning”, and the Psychological Detachment from Work scale. It was found that higher emotional burnout in teachers is related to a lower ability to detach themselves psychologically from their work. Moreover, teachers with higher emotional burnout reported lower health indicators. Comparing data from teachers who worked face-to-face and those working mixed or remotely, differences were found in their levels of emotional burnout; specifically, teachers who worked face-to-face reported higher burnout. These results have practical implications supporting the necessity to promote teachers’ mental health and wellbeing in their workplaces.