Providing psychosocial support for work-from-home educators during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

A recent article discussed the results of mental support for healthcare professionals and mental care during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the report, the researchers suggest that healthcare professionals must be given psychosocial support during and after the pandemic to prevent any long-term consequence. In this correspondence, this paper proposes that psychosocial support must also be given to educators in a work-from-home setup since they are also affected by the stresses that came with the pandemic.

As the science which promotes protection and health of communities, ensuring public health obligates governments and healthcare institutions to respond to the needs of the citizens. During a pandemic, pursuing public health is necessary for it is essential in responding to the need to take care of the well-being of the citizens, which includes physical health, mental health and social well-being. In a previous article, the results of mental support for healthcare professionals and mental care during the COVID-19 pandemic were discussed.¹ The researchers suggested that psychosocial support must be given to healthcare professionals to prevent long-term consequences. Though we agree with this recommendation, we propose, however, in this paper, that educators in a work-from-home setup must also be given psychosocial support since they also suffer from stresses brought by the pandemic.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, physical reporting on work has been limited, if not, suspended. However, due to the possible impact on the economy, a lot of companies have adopted the work-from-home scheme. People are now expected to deliver their tasks at home. In this case, new issues regarding work-life balance emerges. Because of the current scheme, people are tempted to work longer hours, and for those who do not have a home office setup there is no disconnect between home and office life.² This is also the case with educators who are currently teaching from their own homes. Their academic responsibilities are now entangled with the responsibilities they have at home. Now, where there is supposedly a separation of work-related stress and personal stress, the home becomes a stressful space.

Teachers, both in private and public schools, are also among those people who ensure public health by educating students on how to take good care of their well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic because aside from being facilitators of learning, teachers are also expected to provide psychosocial support to the learners by providing avenues for them to share and express their emotions.³ Though some teachers work from home, still, they experience stress brought about by the changing modalities in learning. Because of the transition from face-to-face to online classes, educators are being challenged to maximize the use of online platforms in the delivery of instructions even though not everyone is trained in e-learning. In this time of pandemic, even teachers need psychosocial support since additional pressure is being placed on them in delivering a more effective learning to students.⁴

After understanding such need for psychosocial support, we suggest that this need must be addressed to government officials and employers. Educators who are working from home must also be given assistance since the demarcation between work and home is not existing anymore. Being affected by the stresses that the pandemic brought and the changes that they need to venture, educators must be given a support system to take care of their mental health. This need urges officials and employers to answer to the challenge of contributing in taking care of the well-being of their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Authors’ contribution

All authors contributed to all aspects of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest in this paper.

Venusa M. Muldong

Abelardo E. Garcia Jr

Ivan Efreaim A. Gozum