Physics and Astronomy Faculty Members' Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Focus On

AIP Statistical Research Center.One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3100; e-mail: stats@aip.org; Web site: http://www.aip.org/statistics

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College Faculty; Science Teachers; Physics; Astronomy; Well Being; COVID-19; Pandemics; Family Work Relationship; Teacher Burnout; Teacher Attitudes

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a pervasive impact on the work life and personal lives of employees across the US. During the spring semester of 2021, we surveyed a sample of physics and astronomy faculty members to learn more about their experiences during the pandemic. To understand faculty members' well-being, we asked respondents to gauge their success in balancing their work and personal life and whether they felt burned out both prior to and during the pandemic. Fewer faculty members have been successfully maintaining their work-life balance during compared to before the pandemic, and although the majority of respondents in the survey at least somewhat agreed with their institutions' response to the pandemic, over 60% of physics and astronomy faculty members reported feeling burned out, a 35% increase from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, 64% of responding faculty members reported being concerned about some aspect of their future roles within their department or institution. For this Focus On, we present results aggregated across individuals, departments, and institutions, except in the case of faculty members' concerns for their professional futures.

As Provided

2022

ED617717