Impact of Work Schedule Characteristics on Teacher Mental Health and Burnout Symptoms while Remote Working

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Am J Ind Med
• Personal Author:
  Cavallari, Jennifer M. ; Garza, Jennifer L. ; Charamut, Natalie R. ; Szarka, Cheyenne ; Perry, Spencer D. ; Laguerre, Rick A. ; Sanetti, Lisa M. H. ; Dugan, Alicia G.
• Description:
  During the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers quickly shifted to remote teaching with many teachers experiencing increased work demands with limited resources, affecting both mental health and work.|Within a cross-sectional study, we evaluated the relationship between one type of work demand, non-standard work schedule characteristics, and depressive and burnout symptoms in kindergarten through 8th grade U.S. teachers working remotely in May 2020. We further assessed the impact of COVID-19 and work resources. Work schedule characteristics were self-assessed across six domains on a 5-point frequency scale from always (1) to never (5). We used multilevel Poisson models to calculate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).|In fully adjusted models, frequently working unexpectedly was associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms (PR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.07-1.31, p < 0.01), high emotional exhaustion (PR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.05-1.30, p < 0.01), and high depersonalization (PR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.02-1.92, p = 0.03). Remote work resources were significantly associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms (PR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.79-0.98, p = 0.02). There was a linear association between low coworker support and a low sense of personal accomplishment (PR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.53-0.87, p < 0.01).|Frequently having to work unexpectedly while remote teaching was associated with symptoms of depression and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. Workplaces should support predictable working times to lessen the disruption caused by unexpected work to promote worker well-being.
• Subjects:
  Burnout, Professional COVID-19 Cross-Sectional Studies Humans Mental Health Pandemics Personnel Staffing And Scheduling Teleworking
• Keywords:
  Educators Mental Health Remote Work Work Demands Work Schedule
• Source:
  Am J Ind Med. 66(10):884-896
• Pubmed ID:
  37563744
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC10947992
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  U19 OH012299/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  66
• Issue:
  10
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c9d7d8a1eb146065e83c4a712d633bfd6b17c2fcd538f9e8dae38e62191b0a6a0cc7596856746f914bb8daf36b66a1cb7d489a633f0e17ba8b13c4c28f5084d2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/151760/cdc_151760_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 454.56 KB ]