Abstract:

During the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, everyday life has changed. The education system faced challenges when schools were closed, and students and teachers had to switch to distance learning. Crises bring not only difficulties but also opportunities. After the pandemic ended, it was difficult for some people to return to usual teaching and they continued to prefer remote work. This study aimed to identify the preference of high school teachers in Lithuania for distance work in relation to job satisfaction and well-being.

200 high school teachers took part in the study: 32 percent men and 68 percent women, aged 27-70 (M = 45 years). The working experience of the research participants lasted from 0.2 to 43 years (M = 15.5 years). 83 percent of them worked in one higher education institution, 16 percent in two higher education institutions, and 1 percent (two participants) – in three institutions.

An online survey was conducted at the beginning of 2022. Participants filled out the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS, Spector, 1994) and the World Health Organization - Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Only 10 percent of participants indicated they prefer distance teaching, 26 percent preferred hybrid way, and 64 percent participants preferred in-person teaching. Job satisfaction is highest in the group of those who prefer to work in a contact way, and is statistically significantly different from those who prefer to work remotely (p < 0.05). Although job satisfaction and well-being are statistically significantly related, there is no significant difference in the assessment of well-being among groups according to the preference of the way of work. It seems that the nature of work and the presence of coworkers are important for high school teachers. The pros and cons of distance, hybrid and in-person teaching are discussed.

Keywords:

Distance learning, job satisfaction, well-being, high school teachers.