Teachers' work and health in Brazil: thoughts on the history of research, strides, and challenges

[Organizational roles, work-family conflict, job satisfaction, and mental health of teachers regarding affective organizational commitment]

To examine multiple relations between organizational roles, work-family conflict, job satisfaction, mental health, and affective organizational commitment among basic education teachers, a cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 438 respondents, to whom the Scale for the Assessment of Psychosocial Stressors in the Workplace (EAEPCL, acronym in Portuguese), the General Job Satisfaction Scale, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the Reduced Affective Organizational Commitment Scale (ECOA, acronym in Portuguese) were applied. Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling and the estimated measurement model indicated convergent and discriminant validity, as well as reliability regarding the latent variables used. Direct effects of conflict and role ambiguity on job satisfaction, common mental disorders (CMD) and affective organizational commitment were observed, as well as indirect effects on the latter two mediated by job satisfaction. As for role overload, its direct effects occurred only in relation to job satisfaction, the latter mediating the effect of the former on CMD and affective commitment, whereas work-family conflict mediated the effect of role overload on CMD. These results highlight the harmful effects of role stressors and job (dis)satisfaction on the mental health of teachers by making them more vulnerable to developing CMD and indicate how these can affect results of interest to the institutions studied, such as affective commitment in school organizations.

Estressores ocupacionais e docência na educação básica

O estresse laboral se desencadeia com a emergência de estímulos aversivos no ambiente de trabalho, que foram abordados nesse estudo, cujo objetivo foi caracterizar os estressores ocupacionais no exercício da atividade docente a partir dos relatos de professores atuantes em duas instituições públicas de educação básica, situadas na região sul de Minas Gerais. A análise de conteúdo revelou como estressores mais enfatizados pelos docentes os fatores intrínsecos ao trabalho (infraestrutura deficitária das escolas, sobrecarga quantitativa e qualitativa de tarefas), os relacionamentos no trabalho (baixo suporte de pais/responsáveis, dificuldades na relação com os alunos) e o papel na organização (sobrecarga de papéis, conflito entre transmissores de papel, grau de responsabilidade). Os resultados, além de contribuírem para desvelar peculiaridades da realidade enfocada e refletir sobre o conteúdo da tipologia de estressores adotada, com possíveis subsídios à construção e refinamento de medidas, facilitaram visualizar tendências gerais na organização do trabalho, como a precarização. 

Síndrome de burnout em docentes universitários dos cursos de saúde

Objetivo A síndrome de burnout é definida como um fenômeno psicossocial em resposta crônica aos estressores interpessoais no ambiente de trabalho. Avaliar a síndrome de burnout em docentes dos cursos da área de saúde. Método Estudo descritivo, transversal, com abordagem quantitativa. Para coleta de dados foi utilizado o Maslach Burnout Inventory, além de um questionário socioeconômico. Utilizou-se do teste exato de Fisher para verificar se existe associação entre as variáveis sociodemográficas e a presença de burnout. Resultados Participaram do estudo 57 docentes, a maior parte do sexo feminino (n=39; 68,4%) e com tempo de atuação profissional acima de 10 anos (n=30; 52,6%). A maioria possui outro vinculo (n=43; 75,4%) e dedica mais de 40 horas semanais ao trabalho (n=35; 61,4%). A variável lazer apresentou-se estatisticamente significante em relação a ter ou não burnout evidenciando maior proporção de adoecimento entre os que referiram não sair a lazer. Observou-se percentuais elevados de exaustão emocional, despersonalização e baixa realização profissional revelando uma alta prevalência da síndrome de burnout entre os docentes. Conclusão Esses achados merecem atenção para o acompanhamento dos fatores psicossociais e organizacionais do processo laboral que possam intervir na qualidade de vida e nas condições de saúde desse trabalhador.

Burnout Syndrome in public school teachers in Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil

Objective: To identify the prevalence of Burnout Syndrome (BS) in a sample of 107 elementary school teachers (cycle II and high school) in Sorocaba/SP and analyze possible associations of psychosocial and organizational factors at work with the dimensions of burnout. Methods: Cross-sectional epidemiological study, conducted through a selection of a convenience sample, which included 107 teachers from state schools in Sorocaba using the following criteria: having entered the public teaching career for at least one year and working predominantly as a teacher, that is, not having more hours in administrative positions. Data collection was conducted in eight schools in the city, and two forms were used, the “Maslach Burnout Inventarie-Educators Survey” (MBI-ES) and a biopsychosocial form. Pearson's chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were performed for data analysis, adopting a significance level of 5%. Results: There was a prevalence of BS in 4.7% of teachers, with 29% of teachers showing high Emotional Exhaustion, 33.6% high Depersonalization and 18.7% low Professional Fulfillment. Positive associations were found between factors such as lack of recognition, dissatisfaction with work and situations of harassment with the dimensions of the BS. Conclusion: The results suggest a warning sign for illness characterized by burnout in the sample of teachers studied.

Back pain occurred due to changes in routinary activities among Brazilian schoolteachers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective

This study’s main objective was to investigate the emergence of back pain as a consequence to changes in usual activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic among teachers in public schools in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 15,276 schoolteachers using an online questionnaire. The variables included sociodemographic and occupational data, health situation, habits and behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bivariate analyses using Pearson’s chi-square test and multiple analyses using Poisson regression were performed to identify the associated factors.

Results

About 58% of schoolteachers reported back pain due to changes in routine activities during the pandemic. The adjusted model showed a correlation between back pain and female sex, longer working hours, overwork, difficulties concerning distance working, negative changes in health status and quality of sleep; frequent feeling of sadness, depression, or anxiety; use of medications to relax, sleep or against stress/anxiety/depression; physical inactivity or negative changes in the practice of physical activities; increased body weight; reduction of leisure time; increased time of use of computer or tablet and overload of housework.

Conclusion

During the COVID-19 pandemic, schoolteachers reported a high prevalence of emergence of back pain, which delineates a contradiction in terms: on the one hand, distance education allows social distancing that contributes to the preservation of teachers’ health by reducing the risk of contamination by COVID-19. On the other hand, it imposes new demands that—in disagreement with working conditions—can threaten the health of these workers.