Burnout and stressors in teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a series of restrictive measures were taken to help curb contagion, including the closure of public places. In order to ensure educational continuity, the virtual modality was introduced;however, a large number of teachers were unable to cope with such demands because they were not prepared. For this reason, the aim of the study was to test an explanatory model of burnout in teachers based on job stressors during the pande-mic. METHOD. An applied study with explanatory design of latent variables was proposed, using structural equations (SEM). The participants were 504 teachers (Mage = 42.18;SD = 10.2) of regu-lar basic education from state (62.7%) and private (37.3%) institutions, from three Peruvian re-gions, who responded to a sociodemographic form, the Scale of stressors in teachers in times of pandemic and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). RESULTS. It was found that the dimensions of burnout, emotional exhaustion and cynicism are explained by the stressors work environment and work overload, the use of new technologies, uncertainty about the duration and consequences of the pandemic, the organizational aspect of the educational institution, and the relation-ships with the student’s environment. DISCUSSION. The findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has generated a series of stressors that have had a negative impact on the mental health of teachers, who experience a feeling of emotional exhaustion, loss of strength and insufficient energy to continue facing the job;as well as insensitive or distant responses to different features of the job. In this regard, it is proposed to strengthen the teachers’ personal and logistical resources to face educational demands and counteract the negative effect of stressors. © Sociedad Española de Pedagogía.