The Condition of Education: Teacher Mental Health Absenteeism in the Aftermath of COVID-19

Abstract

<i>The implications of teacher absenteeism are incommensurable. While absenteeism is a longstanding issue in education, there is a gap in the current literature addressing teachers’ mental health and absenteeism after schools reopened following the first wave of the COVID-19 virus. This qualitative descriptive study is anchored on the Job Demands-Job Resources (JD-R) model of organizational stress and well-being. The purpose of the study was twofold: a) to describe teacher absenteeism related to teachers’ mental health stemming from the pandemic’s stressful job demands after schools reopened in the school year 2021-2022 in two Eastern regions of the U.S., and b) to describe the availability of job resources such as administrative mental health support after schools reopened in the school year 2021-2022 in two Eastern regions of the U.S. The study sample consisted of 12 educators: Four teachers and eight administrators were selected using a purposive sample strategy. Semi-structured interviews were carefully designed to extract relevant data in alignment with the research questions. Thematic data analysis was conducted based on the study’s method and design. The study results revealed four themes: New and strenuous job demands, teachers’ mental health decline, mental health absenteeism, and availability of mental health administrative support to mitigate mental health absenteeism.</i>