Summary
The study is part of the agency’s wider government commission to analyse the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and the impact on the work environment in Sweden (A2021/02355, A2021/02331 parts)
The study is based on surveys that were sent to approx. 1,000 primary school teachers, interviews with 50 primary school teachers and interviews with 10 head teachers. Data collection took place from August until mid-September 2022 and is based on teachers having been able to look back on how their work environment changed during the years of the pandemic.
The pandemic changed the conditions for primary school teachers’ work
The study is based on the fact that Sweden, unlike many other countries, chose mainly to keep primary schools open during the coronavirus pandemic. Primary school teachers were charged with keeping up teaching in schools, while their working conditions changed dramatically at the same time. For example, the requirements that staff and pupils had to stay at home if they had symptoms led to high rates of absence among pupils as well as staff. The changed working condi-tions during the pandemic also meant that teachers had to work in new ways to some extent. Among other things, distance and hybrid teaching became a widespread practice, especially in upper secondary school. In order to keep the school open, infection prevention work had to be established, for example.
The pandemic also meant that new working methods were tested which improved the work environment
However, not everything in the work environment deteriorated during the pandemic. Many teachers in the study speak of new working methods being introduced in some cases, which improved the work environment in certain respects. Among other things, teachers were given greater freedom to choose where and when they worked on planning and followup of teaching, which, according to the teachers, led to reduced stress and increased opportunities for a worklife balance. The introduction of digital means of holding meetings made their work more efficient and left more time for planning and followup of their own teaching, among other things. Fewer pupils in the school led to better sound levels and reduced noise.
The pandemic also meant that new working methods were tested which improved the work environment
However, not everything in the work environment deteriorated during the pandemic. Many teachers in the study speak of new working methods being introduced in some cases, which improved the work environment in certain respects. Among other things, teachers were given greater freedom to choose where and when they worked on planning and followup of teaching, which, according to the teachers, led to reduced stress and increased opportunities for a worklife balance. The introduction of digital means of holding meetings made their work more efficient and left more time for planning and followup of their own teaching, among other things. Fewer pupils in the school led to better sound levels and reduced noise.
Health factors: reduced stress and less risk of being infected
During periods of the pandemic, some teachers experienced greater flexibility and were able to determine where and when they would work. This flexibility led to reduced stress and increased opportunities for achieving a worklife balance. The teachers also explain that improved infection prevention work was introduced in schools, reducing the risk of various infections. According to the teachers, this has led to them having fewer colds and stomach bugs at work,
for example.
After the pandemic, the work environment has improved but it still has extensive shortcomings
Now primary schools have largely returned to the working methods that were prevalent before the pandemic. This has resulted in primary teachers generally experiencing a better work environment than during the pandemic. However, the fact that the work environment has largely returned to how it was before the pandemic also means that primary school teachers have returned to the deficient work environment that existed in many places previously.
The pandemic still affects the work situation in primary schools
The interviews reveal that pupils did not develop in terms of knowledge and social competence in the same way during the pandemic. The teachers testify that there are gaps in knowledge that the pupils need to fill in order to achieve their goals. This is work that the teachers have to do now, at the same time as there is a lack of resources. The teachers also explain that they can see that the pupils have not always had the same social skills training since they have been absent from school more, which affects social interaction between pupils at school. This can result in more worry, commotion and conflicts in school than would have been the case if teaching had functioned as normal, according to the teachers. At the same time as there is work that needs to be repeated, several head teachers and teachers state that may teachers are exhausted following the years of the pandemic.
The consequences of the pandemic varied among different groups of teachers
None of the groups of teachers which can be compared in the study report an improved work environment during the pandemic. However, the study indicates that teachers’ length of service, which year they teach and the teachers’ gender and age are connected to the extent that the pandemic had negative consequences for their work environment. For example, the work environment deteriorated more for female primary school teachers than for male teachers and younger teachers were somewhat more affected than older teachers. However, the work environment deteriorated less for teachers of years 7–9. The study cannot give a clear answer to why different groups of teachers were affected in different ways in some cases. However, the report highlights some preliminary interpretations of the identified differences between the groups.
Schools with systematic work environment work suffered fewer negative effects of the pandemic
The study indicates that the school’s organisation and methods of working with the work environment are connected to how powerful a negative impact the pandemic has had on the work environment. The deterioration of the work environment was felt relatively less in schools where the school management worked to improve the work environment for staff during the pandemic. The interviews with head teachers provide examples of aspects which were important for maintaining systematic work environment work.