Lecturers’ Well-Being in Malaysia during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

The recent COVID-19 pandemic inflicted wide-ranging impacts on all sectors globally. Malaysia was no exception. The purpose of this retrospective study is to explore the well-being status of Malaysian university lecturers who conducted online teaching activities during the pandemic and the effective coping strategies they adopted to maintain their wellbeing. This study adopted a phenomenological approach and collected qualitative data from five lecturers of a private university in Selangor through structured interviews over a period of four weeks. The findings of the study imply that the participants embraced a state of sustained positivity and high resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants collectively stated that the positive factors that improved their happiness during the pandemic were the effective application of new teaching technologies in online teaching, frequent social interactions with colleagues, and high student engagement in class. Based on findings, higher education institutions should support lecturers in meeting three significant needs: strong self-confidence and high adaptability, overcoming burnout and high pressure and improving the quality of teaching.