Home⇛Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal⇛vol. 42 no. 7 (2025)

Demographics' Impact on Teachers' Well-Being and Work-Life Balance Post COVID-19: A Basis for a Self-Care Program

Iris Mente | Clarissa F. Delariarte

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented numerous challenges and changes that have affected the self-efficacy and work-life balance of teachers and professionals across various fields. The sudden shift to remote teaching during the crisis, followed by the return to in-person classes, has had diverse effects on teachers' mental, physical, social, and psychological well-being. As frontline workers in schools, teachers have faced the responsibility of delivering face-to-face instruction during the pandemic (Javed et al., 2020). Implementing interventions such as work-life balance, self-care, mindfulness, and other strategies can contribute to the improvement of mental health among teachers and professionals. This study examined the moderating effects of demographics encompassing both age and years of teaching service, in the relationship between teachers' psychological well-being and work-life balance in the post-COVID-19 pandemic context. Furthermore, the study sought to propose a self-care program specifically tailored for teachers. The cross-sectional explanatory method, which employed a moderation analysis, was utilized to achieve the objectives of this study. Analysis revealed that work-life balance and psychological well-being have a significant relationship with each other, demonstrating that things will improve in one of both factors if improvements are made or in the other. In addition, the age or tenure did not moderate the variables, indicating that interventions to improve psychological well-being and work-life balance with teachers can be supported by different ages and years of teaching.



References:

  1. Abuhashesh, M., Al-Dmour, R., & Ed Masa’deh, R. (2019, April). Factors that affect employees job satisfaction and performance to increase customers’ satisfactions. Journal of Human Resources Management Research, 2019(2019), 23. doi: 10.5171/2019.354277
  2. Anthony, E. (2019). (Blended) Learning: How traditional best teaching practices impact blended elementary classrooms. Journal of Online Learning Research, 5(1), 25–48.
  3. Araújo, L. A., Veloso, C. F., Souza, M. C., Azevedo, J., & Tarro, G. (2021). The potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child growth and development: a systematic review. Jornal de pediatria, 97(4), 369–377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jped.2020.08.008
  4. Brooks, S. K., Dunn, R., Amlôt, R., Rubin, G. J., & Greenberg, N. (2018). A systematic, thematic review of social and occupational factors associated with psychological outcomes in healthcare employees during an infectious disease outbreak. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 60(3), 248–257. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000001235
  5. Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet, 395(10227), 912–920. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140- 6736(20)30460-8
  6. Cheung, A. C., Chao, G. C., Lau, E., et al. (2022). Cultivating the psychological well-being of early-childhood education teachers: The importance of quality work life. Applied Research Quality Life, 17, 1533–1553. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-021-09959-x
  7. Cheung, A. C. K., Chao, G. C. N., Lau, E., Leung, A. N. M., & Chui, H. (2022). Cultivating the psychological well-being of early-childhood education teachers: The Importance of quality work life. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 17(3), 1533-1553. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11482-021-09959-x
  8. Cleland, J. A. (2017). The qualitative orientation in medical education research. Korean Journal of Medical Education, 29(2), 61–71. https://doi.org/10.3946/kjme.2017.53
  9. Cleveland, R. E., & Sink, C. A. (2018). Student happiness, school climate, and school improvement plans. Professional School Counseling, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759x18761898
  10. Collie, R. J. (2021). COVID-19 and Teachers' Somatic Burden, Stress, and Emotional Exhaustion: Examining the Role of Principal Leadership and Workplace Buoyancy - Rebecca J. Collie, 2021. SAGE Journals.
  11. Daniel, S. J. (2020). Education and the COVID-19 pandemic. Prospects, 49, 91–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-020-09464-3
  12. Darmawan, S. A., & Dwarawati, D. (2023). Pengaruh Work Life Balance terhadap Employee Well-Being pada Guru SLB. Jurnal Riset Psikologi, 131-138. https://journals.unisba.ac.id/index.php/JRP/article/view/2952
  13. Diliberti, M. K., Schwartz, H. L., & Grant, D. (2021, February 22). Stress Topped the Reasons Why Teachers Quit, Even Before COVID-19. RAND Corporation. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1121-2.html.
  14. Dhawan, S. (2020). Online learning: A panacea in the time of COVID-19 crisis. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 49(1), 5–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239520934018
  15. Doorly, A. (2020, October 20). Estimating the impact of COVID-19 on the non-state education sector in low- and middle-income countr. Global Schools Forum. https://www.globalschoolsforum.org/page/EstimatingtheImpactofCOVID-19
  16. Eriksson, R. H., Hansen, H. K., & Winther, L. (2017). Employment growth and regional development: industrial change and contextual differences between Denmark and Sweden. European Planning Studies, 25(10), 1756–1778. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2017.1338673
  17. Ertürk, R. (2022). The effect of teachers' quality of work life on job satisfaction and turnover intentions. International Journal of Contemporary Educational Research, 9(1), 191-203. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ijcer/issue/67974/1022519
  18. Farooq, A., Laato, S., & Islam, A. K. M. N. (2020). Impact of online information on selfisolation intention during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-sectional study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(5).
  19. Feng, L., & Sass, T. R. (2018). The impact of incentives to recruit and retain teachers in “hardto-staff” subjects. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 37(1), 112–135. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22037
  20. Franco, L. S., Picinin, C. T., Pilatti, L. A., & Franco, A. C. (2021). Work-life balance in Higher Education: a systematic review of the impact on the well-being of teachers. Ensaio: Avaliação e Políticas Públicas em Educação, 29(112), 691-717. https://www.scielo.br/j/ensaio/a/F3PPhBG6ZVXsSvsVCTPV6Cw/?lang=en
  21. Greenier, V., Derakhshan, A., & Fathi, J. (2021). Emotion regulation and psychological well-being in teacher work engagement: a case of British and Iranian English language teachers. System, 97, 102446. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0346251X2030806X
  22. Gunawardena, H., Merlo, S., & Stevens, R. (2020). The preconditions to flourishing: structural necessities for achieving well-being in schools. British Journal of Educational Studies, 68(4), 425–442. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2020.1711857
  23. Hadar, L. L., Ergas, O., Alpert, B., and Ariav, T. (2020). Rethinking Teacher Education in a VUCA World: Student Teachers' Social-Emotional Competencies during the Covid-19 Crisis. Eur. J. Teach. Edu. 43, 573–586. doi:10.1080/02619768.2020.1807513
  24. Haider, Z., & Dasti, R. (2022). Mentoring, research self-efficacy, work–life balance and psychological well-being of doctoral program students. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 11(2), 170-182. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ijmce-07-2020-0036/full/html
  25. Hamburg, I., & Lütgen, G. (2019). Digital divide, digital inclusion and inclusive education. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 6(4), 193–206. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.64.6457
  26. Hee, O. C., Yan, L. H., Rizal, A. M., Kowang, T. O., & Fei, G. C. (2018). Factors influencing employee job satisfaction: A conceptual analysis. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(6), 331–340. https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v8-i6/4207
  27. Hong, J., Day, C., & Greene, B. (2018). The construction of early career teachers’ identities: Coping or managing? Teacher Development, 22(2), 249–266. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2017.1403367
  28. Hrastinski, S. (2019). What do we mean by blended learning? TechTrends, 63(5), 564–569. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-019-00375
  29. Javed, B., Sarwer, A., Soto, E. B., & Mashwani, Z. R. (2020). The coronavirus (COVID ‐19) pandemic's impact on mental health. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 35(5), 993–996. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.3008S
  30. Jelińska, M., & Paradowski, M. B. (2021). The impact of demographics, life, and work circumstances on college and university instructors’ well-being during quarantine. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643229
  31. Johari, J., Yean Tan, F., & Tjik Zulkarnain, Z. I. (2018). Autonomy, workload, work-life balance and job performance among teachers. International Journal of Educational Management, 32(1), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-10-2016-0226
  32. Kamboj, M. (2013). Quality of work-life balance among teachers in higher education institutions. Learning Community: An International Journal of Educational and Social Development, 4(3), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.5958/j.2231-458X.4.3.010
  33. Kamboj, K. P., & Garg, P. (2021). Teachers' psychological well-being role of emotional intelligence and resilient character traits in determining the psychological well-being of Indian school teachers. International Journal of Educational Management, 35(4), 768-788. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ijem-08-2019-0278/full/html
  34. Kim, H., Ku, B., Kim, J. Y., Park, Y. J., & Park, Y. B. (2016). Confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis for validating the Phlegm Pattern Questionnaire for healthy subjects. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2016, 2696019. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/2696019
  35. Kirby, L., Zolkoski, S., O'Brien, K., Mathew, J., Kennedy, B., & Sass, S. (2023). Examining staff and faculty work–life balance and well-being using the dual continua model of mental health during COVID-19. Journal of Happiness and Health, 3(1), 34-48. https://journalofhappinessandhealth.com/index.php/johah/article/view/31
  36. Khawand, S., & Zargar, P. (2022). Job autonomy and work-life conflict: A conceptual analysis of teachers’ wellbeing during COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 882848. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.882848/full
  37. Kurtuluş, E., Kurtuluş, H. Y., Birel, S., & Batmaz, H. (2023). The effect of social support on work-life balance: The role of psychological well-being. International Journal of Contemporary Educational Research, 10(1), 239-249. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ijcer/article/1152323
  38. Lomas, T., Medina, J. C., Ivtzan, I., Rupprecht, S., Hart, R., & Eiroa-Orosa, F. J. (2017). The impact of mindfulness on well-being and performance in the workplace: an inclusive systematic review of the empirical literature. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 26(4), 492-513. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2017.1308924
  39. Lydeka, Z., & Tauraite, V. (2020). Evaluation of the time allocation for work and personal life among employed population in Lithuania from gender perspective. Engineering Economics, 31(1). https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.31.1.23056
  40. Maarefvand, A., & Shafiabady, A. (2024). Effectiveness of Shafie-Abadi's Multidimensional Model Training on Enhancing Occupational Well-being and Quality of Work Life among Teachers in Qom City. International Journal of Education and Cognitive Sciences, 4(4), 21-30. https://iase-ijeas.com/article_190779_7dda11bdc0dff72ea940999a67712426.pdf
  41. Manikandan, G., Suryakumar, M., Velusamy, K., Ramesh, A. B. K., Rathinavelu, S., Rajkamal, S. V., & Jageerkhan, M. N. (2022). Work life imbalance and emotional intelligence: a major role and segment among college teachers. International Journal of Professional Business Review: Int. J. Prof. Bus. Rev., 7(6), 14. http://agora.edu.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=8955703
  42. McKay, M. T., Andretta, J. R., Cole, J. C., & Clarke, M. (2020). Socio-demographic predictors of well-being in United Kingdom adolescents, and the impact of well-being on a range of health-related outcomes. Psychiatry Research, 285, 112728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112728
  43. Mensah, A., & Adjei, N.K. (2020). Work-life balance and self-reported health among working adults in Europe: A gender and welfare state regime comparative analysis. BMC Public Health, 20, 1052. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09139-
  44. Mérida-López, S., & Extremera, N. (2017). Emotional intelligence and teacher burnout: A systematic review. International Journal of Educational Research, 85, 121-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2017.07.006
  45. Mérida-López, S., Extremera, N., & Rey, L. (2017). Contributions of work-related stress and emotional intelligence to teacher engagement: Additive and interactive effects. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14101156
  46. Moe, K. (2012). Factors influencing women’s psychological well-being within a positive functioning framework. Doctoral dissertation. University of Kentucky. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/edp_etds/3
  47. Nikkhah, M., Heravi-Karimooi, M., Montazeri, A., et al. (2018). Psychometric properties of the Iranian version of the Older People’s Quality of Life questionnaire (OPQOL). Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 16(174). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-018-1002-z
  48. Nilsson, M., Blomqvist, K., & Andersson, I. (2017). Salutogenic resources in relation to teachers’ work-life balance. Work, 56(4), 591–602. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-172528
  49. Ogakwu, N. V., Ede, M. O., Manafa, I. F., Okeke, C. I., & Onah, S. O. (2024). Quality of work-life and stress management in a rural sample of primary school teachers: an intervention study. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 42(1), 135-161. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10942-022-00494-8
  50. Rahim, N. B., Osman, I., & Arumugam, P. V. (2020). Linking work-life balance and employee well-being: Do supervisor support and family support moderate the relationship? International Journal of Business and Society, 21(2), 588-606. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/79737476/1219-libre.pd
  51. Rahman, M. F. (2020). Employee Motivation: The Need for Organizational Support to Foster Work- Employee Motivation.
  52. Rapanta, C., Botturi, L., Goodyear, P., Guardia, L., & Koole, M. (2020). Online university teaching during and after the Covid-19 crisis: Refocusing teacher presence and learning activity. Postdigital Science and Education, 2, 923–945. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438- 020-00155-y
  53. Rossi, A., Siracusano, A., & Di Lorenzo, G. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures impact on mental health among the general population in Italy. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00790
  54. Rumschlag, K.E. (2017). Teacher Burnout: A Quantitative Analysis of Emotional Exhaustion, Personal Accomplishment, and Depersonalization. International Management Review, 13, 22.
  55. Ruoslahti, H. (2020). From classroom to online teaching – a case during COVID-19. Information & Security: An International Journal, 46(3). https://doi.org/10.11610/isij.4620
  56. Ryan, G. (2018). Introduction to positivism, interpretivism and critical theory. In Nurse Researcher, 25(4). https://doi.org/10.7748/nr.2018.e1466
  57. Salari, N., Hosseinian-Far, A., Jalali, R., Vaisi-Raygani, A., Rasoulpoor, S., Mohammadi, M., Rasoulpoor, S., & Khaledi-Paveh, B. (2020). .نادری Globalization and Health, 16(1), 1–11.
  58. Susilaningsih, F. S., Komariah, M., Mediawati, A. S., & Lumbantobing, V. B. (2021). Quality of work-life among lecturers during online learning in COVID-19 pandemic period: A scoping review. Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 17(4), 163-166. https://medic.upm.edu.my/upload/dokumen/2021061711512533_MJMHS_0374.pdf
  59. Sutcher, L., Darling-Hammond, L., & Carver-Thomas, D. (2019). Understanding teacher shortages: An analysis of teacher supply and demand in the United States. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 27, 35. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.27.3696
  60. Swathi, R. S. V. R., & Mohapatra, A. K. Das. (2017). Work-life balance: Evolution and models – a study in the Indian context. International Journal of Science and Research, 6(5).
  61. Urquijo, I., Extremera, N., & Azanza, G. (2019). The contribution of emotional intelligence to career success: Beyond personality traits. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(23). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234809
  62. Van der Spoel, I., Noroozi, O., Schuurink, E., & van Ginkel, S. (2020). Teachers’ online teaching expectations and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. European Journal of Teacher Education, 43(4). https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1821185
  63. Vives, A., Gray, N., González, F., & Molina, A. (2018). Gender and Ageing at Work in Chile: Employment, Working Conditions, Work–Life Balance and Health of Men and Women in an Ageing Workforce. Annals of Work Exposures and Health, 62(4), 475–489. https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxy021
  64. Wei, C., & Ye, J. H. (2022, November). The impacts of work-life balance on the emotional exhaustion and well-being of college teachers in China. In Healthcare (Vol. 10, No. 11, p. 2234). MDPI. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/11/2234
  65. Wei, C., & Ye, J.-H. (2022). The impacts of work-life balance on the emotional exhaustion and well-being of college teachers in China. Healthcare, 10(11), 2234. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10112234
  66. Williams, R. L. (2017). The impact of noncognitive factors in addressing the needs of the whole child. International Conference on Education and E-Learning (EeL). Proceedings, March 2018, 83.
  67. Winburn, A., Reysen, R., Suddeath, E., & Perryman, M. (2017). Working beyond the bell. Professional School Counseling, 21(1) https://doi.og/10.1177/2156759x18775137
  68. Wolf, S. (2019). Year 3 follow-up of the ‘Quality Preschool for ghana’ interventions on child development. Developmental Psychology, 55(12), 2587–2602. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000843
  69. World Health Organization. (2020). Occupational health: Stress at the workplace. https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/ccupational-health-stress-at-the-workplace
  70. Xie, X., Xue, Q., Zhou, Y., Zhu, K., Liu, Q., Zhang, J., & Song, R. (2020). Mental health status among children in home confinement during the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak in Hubei Province, China. JAMA Pediatrics, 174(9), 898. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.1619
  71. Yayla, A., & İlgin, V. E. (2021). The relationship of nurses’ psychological well-being with their coronaphobia and work–life balance during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 30(21-22), 3153-3162. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15783
  72. Ye, T., & Yang, X. (2020). Analysis and prediction of confirmed covid-19 cases in China with uncertain time series. Fuzzy Optimization and Decision Making, 20(2), 209–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10700-020-09339-4
  73. Zaidi, A., & Ali, A. Z. (2020). Living under the shadow of a pandemic: The psychological challenges underlying social distancing and awareness raising. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000815
  74. Zakaria, Z., Don, Y., & Yaakob, M. F. M. (2021). Teachers' Well-Being from the Social Psychological Perspective. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 10(2), 641-647. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1299271
  75. Zewude, G. T., & Hercz, M. (2021). Psychological Capital and Teacher Well-Being: The Mediation Role of Coping with Stress. European Journal of Educational Research, 10(3), 1227-1245. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1307367
  76. Zhang, Y., Zhang, S., & Hua, W. (2019). The impact of psychological capital and occupational stress on teacher burnout: Mediating role of coping styles. Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 28(4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-019-00446-4
  77. Zhou, M., Wang, D., Zhou, L., Liu, Y., & Hu, Y. (2021). The effect of work-family conflict on occupational well-being among primary and secondary school teachers: the mediating role of psychological capital. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 745118. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.745118/full

Tools


Copyright © 2025  KITE Digital Educational Solutions |  Exclusively distributed by CE-Logic