Exploring Middle School Teachers' Job Demands and Job Resources during COVID-19

Introduction: The study aimed to explore teachers' general working conditions, job demands and resources, and teachers' general well-being in four middle schools in the Southeastern U.S during COVID-19. Methods: The methodology for this study was qualitative. The sampling strategy was purposeful and comprised 15 educators. The data were collected utilizing two semi-structured interviews and documentation. The data analysis consisted of thematic analysis. Results: The study's results revealed seven themes that emerged from the data: (1) Changes in working conditions;(2) teachers' well-being and working conditions;(3) perceived teachers' new job demands and additional workload;(4) emotionally draining job demands;(5) perceived available job resources;(6) perceived need for job resources;and (7) strategies teachers used to cope with stress. Discussion: The lessons learned during the pandemic in these four organizations may assist leaders in designing new policies and avoid further deterioration of teachers' well-being. Limitations: Access to the organization's documentation and the sample size were limitations. Conclusions: The shift in job demands and job resources during the pandemic placed teachers at risk of emotional exhaustion and burnout.

Exploring teachers' job demands and job resources during COVID-19: An exploratory case study

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore teachers' general working conditions, job demands, job resources, and teachers' state of well-being in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in four middle schools in the Southeastern United States. The study sample was comprised of nine teachers and six administrators. A purposeful sample was carefully selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria protocols. The data collection instruments in the present study consisted of two sets of semi-structured interviews and documentation produced in the organizations. The data analysis was conducted in unison with data collection and included memoing, reflexivity, coding, comparison analysis, and forming categories and themes. Four research questions were designed to learn about the organizations' general working conditions, job demands, job resources, and teachers' state of well-being. The analysis of the data revealed seven themes: Changes in working conditions, teachers' well-being and working conditions, new job demands and additional workload, emotionally draining job demands, perceived available job resources, the perceived need for job resources, and the utilization of personal resources to cope with stress. Findings showed teachers' working conditions, job demands, job resources, and teachers' well-being dramatically changed during the closing of the schools in March 2020 and through the 2020-2021 school year. Based on the study results, recommendations were provided to leaders and practitioners to improve teachers' working conditions and well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)