Compassion satisfaction as a buffer against the negative impact of online teaching on higher education staff during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic meant that teaching and learning in higher education was urgently re-designed for online delivery. To date, some universities still require staff and students to work from home or are using a hybrid approach. Research investigating the impact of online teaching on academics is needed. The current study examined whether online teaching was associated with work-related stress, burnout, wellbeing, and job satisfaction among higher education teaching staff. The buffering effects of social support and compassion satisfaction were also investigated. An online questionnaire was completed by 95 academic staff members from UK higher education institutions. Parallel mediation analyses showed that work-related stress while teaching online was related to poorer wellbeing, lower levels of job satisfaction, and increased burnout. Staff who reported higher levels of work-based social support and higher levels of compassion satisfaction also reported higher wellbeing and job satisfaction, and lower levels of work-related stress and burnout. Further, compassion satisfaction mediated the link between work-based stress, well-being, job satisfaction and burnout. Universities must acknowledge the ongoing and long-term impact of online teaching on academic staff. There is a need to consider ways to reduce work-related stress and increase compassion satisfaction among higher education academics to improve psychological wellbeing.