EFL Instructors’ Occupational Wellbeing during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey: A Study of Burnout and Work Engagement

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the following online education experiences have caused significant changes in educators’ work lives and working conditions and brought extra stress factors. This mixed-methods study examined the well-being of English instructors trying to continue their teaching activities through online teaching during the pandemic in Turkey, based on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Theory. Quantitative data were collected from 69 English instructors through an inventory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 instructors. The results reveal an average level of burnout and work engagement in the study sample. Uncertainty and the limitations of technology are emerging as two new job demands faced by instructors in online teaching during the pandemic. The findings also provide evidence for the possibility of adding a fourth dimension to the JD-R: personal demands. E-teaching readiness and openness to interaction as personal resources and security as a job resource have emerged as three new resources specific to the online teaching mode. Student-related factors, which were found to be causes of poor well-being in general in previous studies, have been found to be sources that promote higher well-being among instructors in online education. The study reveals important implications for school administrators and teacher educators.