Inclusion and caregiving burdens and health-care concerns

Teaching a class over Zoom while entertaining a toddler who clamors for a snack. Finishing a grant application after preparing dinner for an elderly parent while worrying about running out of masks. Juggling a chronic illness amid mandated in-person events while trying to avoid contracting COVID-19. These stories are not fictional but represent challenges many educators have faced during the pandemic.

Many educational institutions are forgetting about these conditions, even as the pandemic experience has impacted essential workers – faculty and staff – in ways that will last for years to come. Caregiving burdens and health concerns will affect nearly all faculty and staff at some point in their careers. And these issues have been exacerbated during the pandemic, especially by school closures and inconsistent public health orders.

In a previous article, two researchers found that the impact of COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, a negative impact on faculty attitudes toward inclusion. Teacher climate surveys conducted in 2018 and 2022Supported by NSF ADVANCE Grants. moreover, Our Research In addition to gender, race, class, and field, two factors have been shown to play particularly large roles in reducing faculty feelings of inclusion: caregiving burdens and health concerns related to the pandemic.

We asked faculty whether their work had been limited by caregiving demands during the pandemic. About 50% of respondents said that it had. Perhaps not surprisingly, faculty inclusion worsened for everyone, but the impact was greater for faculty with caregiving burdens. Feelings of exclusion in the workplace can result from the accumulation of various caregiving demands across relationships.

In addition to asking about pandemic-related care burdens, we also asked if the teacher was a caregiver. Teachers with pandemic-related burdens (such as homeschooling children or caring for sick family members) felt less accepted, whereas most caregivers more Perhaps being a caregiver had some benefits during lockdown, especially for those with older children or those with generally healthy and supportive families. Social support from family and friends may safeguard a sense of inclusion in the workplace. However, when caregiving becomes a burden and impacts productivity, it contributes to teachers feeling left out.

Many women have experienced Extreme Work-Life Balance Challenges During the PandemicWe expected that female caregivers would feel less alienated within their departments because they engage in intensive caregiving tasks at home and on campus. However, unexpectedly, non-caregivers felt the most alienated among all faculty members. First, colleagues may rely on non-caregivers, especially women, to do extra service work because they do not have family caregiving responsibilities. In addition, non-caregivers may face greater feelings of isolation, which may lead to feelings of alienation.

Regarding health concerns, about 10 percent of faculty respondents said their work was limited by personal health issues during the pandemic. It is concerning but not surprising that people with these health issues feel left out. The sudden shift to remote work and the highly politicized response to COVID-19 may have hurt their sense of belonging and community.

Faculty who required accommodations related to health or disability conditions may have felt the lack of support more keenly upon returning to work.One bright side of the pandemic is that remote work has become more accessible, especially for faculty. People with disabilitiesBut as these accommodations began to fade, teachers with health issues and who needed them may have felt even more left out.

A better understanding of faculty members’ sense of belonging and engagement with their colleagues and workplace is key to maintaining a more diverse faculty. Our findings suggest that more recognition, organizational support, and care are needed to maintain faculty diversity. Teachers with health issues and Nursing Care DepartmentOn-campus child care facilities, emergency funds for elderly or family care, paid time off, and more.

Nearly all faculty will have caregiving responsibilities or health concerns at some point in their careers. Supporting these situations benefits everyone. Institutional policies and procedures should consider caregiving, health issues, and faculty disability status to ensure all faculty feel included and can be productive.