The effect of risk of contracting and fear of COVID-19 on burnout and job satisfaction in Polish teachers

Abstract

Fear of COVID-19 and its related complications can negatively affect well-being and contribute to less effective daily and professional functioning. Based on Maslach’s burnout concept, this study aimed to verify the relationship between risk of contracting and fear of COVID-19, occupational burnout and job satisfaction in Polish teachers during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.Three hundred fifty-two teachers, aged between 22 and 68, participated in this study. In the studied sample, 252 people worked remotely, 41 in-person and 59 were hybrid workers. The Risk of Contracting COVID-19 Scale, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Brief Job Satisfaction Scale were used.Risk of contracting COVID-19 was positively related to fear of COVID-19 and emotional exhaustion. Moreover, fear of COVID-19 was negatively related to personal accomplishment and positively related to emotional exhaustion. Lastly, all three dimensions of occupational burnout were significantly related to job satisfaction. There was no direct relationship between fear of COVID-19 and job satisfaction. This relation was mediated by two scales of occupational burnout: personal accomplishment and emotional exhaustion. All three subscales of occupational burnout were significant predictors of job satisfaction, explaining 53% of its variance.The current study showed a relationship between the risk perception of COVID-19, occupational burnout and job satisfac-tion in Polish teachers during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results obtained in the study may contrib-ute to the understanding of the effects of the pandemic for the professional group of educators.