POLISH TEACHERS’ STRESS, WELL-BEING AND MENTAL HEALTH DURING COVID-19 EMERGENCY REMOTE

at both the individual and the institutional level


rgency remote
educationmental health
Introduction: Emergency remote education caused by the COVID-19 pandemic brought numerous threats to the mental health of all actors involved in education.The researchers focused mostly on mental health of students, neglecting, to some extent, mental health and well-being of educational staff.However, as mental health of teachers influences the quality of work, it is important to summarize findings concerning important factors influencing mental health of educational professionals during the school closure.Research Aim: The aim of this study was to prepare an overview of findings from quantitative and qualitative research conducted in Poland during the period of emergency remote education.The studies included in the analysis were based on the data on mental health, well-being and occupational stress and stressors in the population of Polish teachers during the pandemic.Altogether data from 11 studies and two theoretical texts have been analyzed.Evidence-based Facts:The studies analyzed confirmed lower well-being and higher levels of occupational stress (with emotional and somatic components).This state has been caused by a variety of stressors connected to the new educational reality, e.g.techno-stress associated with extensive usage of ICT and lower quality of important educational relations.Summary: The results confirm the need to conduct an ongoing diagnosis of various aspects of teachers' mental health, particularly in periods such as the emergency remote education where a lot of new stressors occur.There is also a substantial need to offer mental health promotion programs for teachers at both the individual and the institutional level.

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic brought numerous changes to the lives of people all over the world.It particularly impacted the world of education since it entirely changed the way teachers and students have been communicating and building relationships as well as the form of all educational activities themselves.This brought a lot of burdens to the mental health of all actors involved in education and had a substantial impact on it also after the return to the traditional form of education (Doucet, 2020;Pyżalski, 2020).Essentially, there was a clear tendency to focus on mental health issues of the young generation during the pandemic (Poleszak and Pyżalski, 2020).Most studies explored different aspects of psychological condition of primary and secondary school as well as university students during the period of remote education.Such research projects focused on effects -exploring aspects such as depression or psychosomatic complaints (e.g.Ptaszek et al., 2021), but also specific factors influencing mental health (such as the quality of important relations, lack of social contacts).This focus on young people is, on the one hand, understandable -in the case of the young generation, the potential negative consequences may be longterm and may disrupt developmental processes.On the other hand, the well-being and mental health of important adults (mainly understood as parents and teachers) are linked to the mental health of young people and should not be ignored in research and policies.The connection between the mental health of parents, teachers and young people is mediated by numerous mechanisms, e.g. the quality of relationships between adults and young people, the presence of phenomena such as conflicts or violence, etc.Thus, the data on how important adults coped with the risk factors of the pandemic and how that time impacted their mental health and well-being are crucial since the adults organized and shaped, to a great extent, the social environment in which young people lived.This is particularly pertinent in the case of teachers who were expected to support the mental health of their students during the remote education period and after their return to the traditional mode of education provided in school buildings.Essentially, teaching is regarded as one of the so-called helping professions or human service professions and is undoubtedly full of psychosocial occupational stressors.Thus, since the 1970s, mental health and well-being of teachers hav

INTRODUCTION
The COVID-19 pandemic brought numerous changes to the lives of people all over the world.It particularly impacted the world of education since it entirely changed the way teachers and students have been communicating and building relationships as well as the form of all educational activities themselves.This brought a lot of burdens to the mental health of all actors involved in education and had a substantial impact on it also after the return to the traditional form of education (Doucet, 2020;Pyżalski, 2020).Essentially, there was a clear tendency to focus on mental health issues of the young generation during the pandemic (Poleszak and Pyżalski, 2020).Most studies explored different aspects of psychological condition of primary and secondary school as well as university students during the period of remote education.Such research projects focused on effects -exploring aspects such as depression or psychosomatic complaints (e.g.Ptaszek et al., 2021), but also specific factors influencing mental health (such as the quality of important relations, lack of social contacts).This focus on young people is, on the one hand, understandable -in the case of the young generation, the potential negative consequences may be longterm and may disrupt developmental processes.On the other hand, the well-being and mental health of important adults (mainly understood as parents and teachers) are linked to the mental health of young people and should not be ignored in research and policies.The connection between the mental health of parents, teachers and young people is mediated by numerous mechanisms, e.g. the quality of relationships between adults and young people, the presence of phenomena such as conflicts or violence, etc.Thus, the data on how important adults coped with the risk factors of the pandemic and how that time impacted their mental health and well-being are crucial since the adults organized and shaped, to a great extent, the social environment in which young people lived.This is particularly pertinent in the case of teachers who were expected to support the mental health of their students during the remote education period and after their return to the traditional mode of education provided in school buildings.Essentially, teaching is regarded as one of the so-called helping professions or human service professions and is undoubtedly full of psychosocial occupational stressors.Thus, since the 1970s, mental health and well-being of teachers have been explored worldwide predominantly from the perspective of teacher's occupational stress and burn-out, which occurs when teachers ineffectively cope with occupational burdens (Howard and Johnson, 2004;Kyriacou, 2001;Kyriacou and Sutcliffe, 1978;Manthei and Solman, 1988;Pyżalski and Merecz, 2010;Pyżalski and Plichta, 2007;Travers, 2017).Generally, the results of those studies confirm the teaching profession as highly stressful and teachers as professionals who experience numerous consequences of those stressors (such as mental health issues, negative health behaviors, etc.) (Kwiatkowski, 2021).When analyzing the factors that may heighten occupational stress or, in some cases constitute burn-out in teachers, one can find numerous typologies showing a variety of different factors ranging from macro, through micro to personal level.Importantly, those stressors are connected to the socio-cultural context of the particular country and change in time.This implies the need to update the concepts of teacher stress, the diagnostic tools and, subsequently, the preventive measures.It is obvious that the COVID-19 pandemic period also exerted a great impact on those aspects of teacher's work.At least three mechanisms may come into play and influence the phenomenology of teacher stress during the pandemic: been explored worldwide predominantly from the perspective of teacher's occupational stress and burn-out, which occurs when teachers ineffectively cope with occupational burdens (Howard and Johnson, 2004;Kyriacou, 2001;Kyriacou and Sutcliffe, 1978;Manthei and Solman, 1988;Pyżalski and Merecz, 2010;Pyża ski and Plichta, 2007;Travers, 2017).Generally, the results of those studies confirm the teaching profession as highly stressful and teachers as professionals who experience numerous consequences of those stres ors (such as mental health issues, negative health behaviors, etc.) (Kwiatkowski, 2021).When analyzing the factors that may heighten occupational stress or, in some cases constitute burn-out in teachers, one can find numerous typologies showing a variety of different factors ranging from macro, through micro to personal level.Importantly, those stressors are connected to the socio-cultural context of the particular country and change in time.This implies the need to update the concepts of teacher stress, the diagnostic tools and, subsequently, the preventive measures.It is obvious that the COVID-19 pandemic period also exerted a great impact on those aspects of teacher's work.At least three mechanisms may come into play and influence the phenomenology of teacher stress during the pandemic:

1. Traditional stressors present in the workplace (e.g.negative staff relationships or school managem 1. Traditional stressors present in the workplace (e.g.negative staff relationships or school management) are modified.Those changes may be of quantitative (e.g. less or more conflict situations with colleagues) or qualitative character (such as less confidence concerning the proper execution of occupational tasks which prior to the pandemic had been implemented with confidence, or problems with the computer mediated communication among the staff).
nt) are modified.Those changes may be of quantitative (e.g. less or more conflict situations with colleagues) or qualitative character (such as less confidence concerning the proper execution of occupational tasks which prior to the pandemic had been implemented with confidence, or problems with the computer mediated communication among the staff).

2. New stressors that had not been present or had occurred only rarely before the pandemic (Kwiatkowski, 2021).The content of those stressors is not clear and obvious, and there is a possibility that not all of them were identified in the empirical studies conducted during the remote education period.

3. Occupational stressors may be heightened by the universal s 2. New stressors that had not been present or had occurred only rarely before the pandemic (Kwiatkowski, 2021).The content of those stressors is not clear and obvious, and there is a possibility that not all of them were identified in the empirical studies conducted during the remote education period.
3. Occupational stressors may be heightened by the universal stressors present in teachers' lives (such as being frightened at the possibility of getting infected or about the health status of family members).

essors present in teachers'
lives (such as being frightened at the possibility of getting infected or about the health status of family members).

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting remote education should be recognized as an environmental emergency (Poleszak and Pyżalski, 2020).As a consequence, it has changed the quality of life in many areas of human activity.Research suggests that teachers' well-being decreased during the pandemic crisis (Alves et al., 2021;Kim et al., 2022).According to Wojciechowska (2005), well-being is understood as a positive evaluation of different a The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting remote education should be recognized as an environmental emergency (Poleszak and Pyżalski, 2020).As a consequence, it has changed the quality of life in many areas of human activity.Research suggests that teachers' well-being decreased during the pandemic crisis (Alves et al., 2021;Kim et al., 2022).According to Wojciechowska (2005), well-being is understood as a positive evaluation of different aspects of physical activity, psychological activity (fulfillment of needs, sense of identity and taking up challenges) and social activity (satisfaction with relationships with others, social support, fulfilling certain roles and achieving a position in an environment).In turn, the tripartite concept of subjective well-being by Keyes and Waterman (cit. in: Moore and Keyes, 2003) refers to three dimensions: emotional, psychological and social well-being.
pects of physical activity, psychological activity (fulfillment of needs, sense of identity and taking p challenges) and social activity (satisfaction with relationships with others, social support, ful illing certain roles and achieving a position in an environment).In turn, the tripartite concept of subjective well-being by Keyes and Waterman (cit. in: Moore and Keyes, 2003) refers to three dimensions: emotional, psychological and social well-being.

The World Health Organization (WHO) links well-being to health, stating that health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.Such an account of health is closer to an understanding of happiness than health; it does not fully exhaust the addressed problem and, above all, is difficult to operationalize.In his review of many definitions of health, Domaradzki (2013) tends to see it as a certain continuum between a state of optimal well-being and d The World Health Organization (WHO) links well-being to health, stating that health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.Such an account of health is closer to an understanding of happiness than health; it does not fully exhaust the addressed problem and, above all, is difficult to operationalize.In his review of many definitions of health, Domaradzki (2013) tends to see it as a certain continuum between a state of optimal well-being and discomfort.In turn, he defines discomfort as "the level of disharmony between physiological, psychological, sociocultural, spiritual and environmental factors" (Domaradzki, 2013, p. 411).This is also the concept of health we adopt in this study.

comfort.In turn, he de
ines discomfort as "the level of disharmony between physiological, psychological, sociocultural, spiritual and environmental factors" (Domaradzki, 2013, p. 411).This is also the concept of health we adopt in this study.


RESEARCH AIM AND QUESTIONS

The aim of this study was to identify research projects that explore teachers' stress, well-being and health during the period of remote education caused by the COV-ID-19 pandemic in Poland, as well as to analyze their main results.We included in the analysis quantitative and qualitative research projects conducted between March 2019 and June 2021 that gathered the data covering the following research problems:

1. What were the occupational stressors and the level of occupational stress of Polish teachers during the COVID-19 emergency remote education?

2. What was the quality of Polish teachers' well-being during the COVID-19 emergency remote education?

3. What was the quality of Polish teachers' health during the COVID-19 emergency remote education?

By browsing databases (using keywords in Polish: "Polish teachers" + "well-being" or "occupational stress" or "mental health"+ "COVID-19" or "emergency remote education") we identified a total of 11 studies (but more papers since some studies were described in more than one source).In a few cases we received reports not from scientific databases but from institutional websites (e.g. in the case of research projects conducted by non-governmental organizations).Additionally, we found two texts on the problems addressed in this article but of theoretical character (without empirical data).The short description of the studies, sampling and methodological aspects of the research projects are pr

RESEARCH AIM AND QUESTIONS
The aim of this study was to identify research projects that explore teachers' stress, well-being and health during the period of remote education caused by the COV-ID-19 pandemic in Poland, as well as to analyze their main results.We included in the analysis quantitative and qualitative research projects conducted between March 2019 and June 2021 that gathered the data covering the following research problems: 1. What were the occupational stressors and the level of occupational stress of Polish teachers during the COVID-19 emergency remote education?
2. What was the quality of Polish teachers' well-being during the COVID-19 emergency remote education?
3. What was the quality of Polish teachers' health during the COVID-19 emergency remote education?
By browsing databases (using keywords in Polish: "Polish teachers" + "well-being" or "occupational stress" or "mental health"+ "COVID-19" or "emergency remote education") we identified a total of 11 studies (but more papers since some studies were described in more than one source).In a few cases we received reports not from scientific databases but from institutional websites (e.g. in the case of research projects conducted by non-governmental organizations).Additionally, we found two texts on the problems addressed in this article but of theoretical character (without empirical data).The short description of the studies, sampling and methodological aspects of the research projects are presented in Table 1.
sented in Table 1.


EVIDENCE-BASED REVIEW

Occupational stressors during the pandemic Even when asked in a very general way, Polish teachers perceived remote education as a serious burden in their work.Teachers inquired in 2021 by Buchner, Fereniec-Błońska and Wierzbicka indicated remote education among the five most im

EVIDENCE-BASED REVIEW
Occupational stressors during the pandemic Even when asked in a very general way, Polish teachers perceived remote education as a serious burden in their work.Teachers inquired in 2021 by Buchner, Fereniec-Błońska and Wierzbicka indicated remote education among the five most important factors that disturb their work.Sixty percent of them indicated this aspect, followed by the lack of support in educational problems (30%), bureaucracy (70%), too many students in a class (58%) and low occupational prestige (52%).Teachers that participated in qualitative interviews conducted by Gliwicka and Sikorska (2022) raised the issues of life-work balance (mostly concerning doubts whether they would be able to take care of their own children properly while working at home).It is worth mentioning that although problems with work-life balance had also been experienced by Polish teachers before the pandemic, they intensified substantially due to the difficulties with drawing boundaries between their private and occupational time and space while working at home.This was confirmed in a big scale quantitative study where primary and secondary school teachers confirmed that it was hard for them to balance home duties and work (avg.3.3 on a 5-point scale) (Bigaj and Dębski, 2021).This was in line with the results concerning time needed to fulfill occupational duties.Nine in ten teachers claimed that they increased the amount of time spent on lesson preparation compared to the period before the pandemic (Ptaszek, 2021).Taking into account work overload experienced by Polish teachers as an important risk factor also before the pandemic, this may have increased occupational stress substantially (Pyżalski and Merecz, 2010).
ortant factors that disturb their work.Sixty percent of them indicated this aspect, followed by the lack of support in educational problems (30%), bureaucracy (70%), too many students in a class (58%) and low occupational prestige (52%).Teachers that participated in qualitative interviews conducted by Gliwicka and Sikorska (2022) raised the issues of life-work balance (mostly concerning doubts whether they would be able to take care of their own children properly while working at home).It is worth mentioning that although problems with work-life balance had also been experienced by Polish teachers before the pandemic, they intensified substantially due to the difficulties with drawing boundaries between their private and occupational time and space while working at home.This was confirmed in a big scale quantitative study where primary and secondary school teachers confirmed that it was hard for them to balance home duties and work (avg.3.3 on a 5-point scale) (Bigaj and Dębski, 2021).This was in line with the results concerning time needed to fulfill occupational duties.Nine in ten teachers claimed that they increased the amount of time spent on lesson preparation compared to the period before the pandemic (Ptaszek, 2021).Taking into account work overload experienced by Polish teachers as an important risk factor also before the pandemic, this may have increased occupational stress substantially (Pyżalski and Merecz, 2010).

A closer look at specific stressors connected to didactic circumstances shows that a lot of teachers indicated that various aspects of remote education triggered negative emotions.Primary and secondary school teachers (N = 471) assessed on the Likert scale (1-5) their experience of the following emotions and problems (Bigaj and Dębski, 2021):

1.I did not know how to behave during remote live lessons (avg.4.3).2. I felt ashamed while using my camera during remote lessons (avg.4.2). 3. I was angry at myself for not having sufficient competences in operating software and applications (avg.3.8).4. I was afraid I would not be able to conduct online lessons (avg.3.6).5.I was not fully confident using apps (avg.3.5).Generally, at the beginning of the remote education period, as many as 55% of teachers assessed themselves as three or less on the school assessment scale (16) (Ptaszek, 2021).These results are understandable when we acknowledge that as many as 85% of Polish teachers had no experience with remote education tools before the school closure caused by the COVID-19 pandem A closer look at specific stressors connected to didactic circumstances shows that a lot of teachers indicated that various aspects of remote education triggered negative emotions.Primary and secondary school teachers (N = 471) assessed on the Likert scale (1-5) their experience of the following emotions and problems (Bigaj and Dębski, 2021): 1.I did not know how to behave during remote live lessons (avg.4.3).2. I felt ashamed while using my camera during remote lessons (avg.4.2). 3. I was angry at myself for not having sufficient competences in operating software and applications (avg.3.8).4. I was afraid I would not be able to conduct online lessons (avg.3.6).5.I was not fully confident using apps (avg.3.5).Generally, at the beginning of the remote education period, as many as 55% of teachers assessed themselves as three or less on the school assessment scale (16) (Ptaszek, 2021).These results are understandable when we acknowledge that as many as 85% of Polish teachers had no experience with remote education tools before the school closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (Buchner et al., © 2022 by: Jacek Pyżalski, Wiesław Poleszak This is an Open Access Article Under the CC BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)2020).Many stress concepts recognize dealing with students (particularly those with emotional problems and special needs) as a serious stressor in the teacher's workplace.Without measuring those problems directly, the study by Szaban and Lisowski (2022) focused on coping strategies that teachers used while dealing with students' problems.They found out that the three main strategies included talking to other teachers (85%), asking other professionals (78%) and trying to cope on their own (51%).
c (Buchner et al., © 2022 by: Jacek Pyżalski, Wiesław Poleszak This is an Open Access Article Under the CC BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)2020).Many stress concepts recognize dealing with students (particularly those with emotional problems and special needs) as a serious stressor in the teacher's workplace.Without measuring those problems directly, the study by Szaban and Lisowski (2022) focused on coping strategies that teachers used while dealing with students' problems.They found out that the three main strategies included talking to other teachers (85%), asking other professionals (78%) and trying to cope on their own (51%).

Another important issue identified by Polish teachers was the negative evaluation of educational activities provided by teachers during the remote education period as expressed by students' parents and the general public (e.g. in social media comments) (Buchner et al., 2020).Such evaluations were partially justified, particularly at the beginning of the remote teaching period, when teachers were adapting to the new rea Another important issue identified by Polish teachers was the negative evaluation of educational activities provided by teachers during the remote education period as expressed by students' parents and the general public (e.g. in social media comments) (Buchner et al., 2020).Such evaluations were partially justified, particularly at the beginning of the remote teaching period, when teachers were adapting to the new reality.The first attempts at online didactics were full of failures and inevitable problems that were difficult for students and their parents.However, the critics were often exaggerating and making unjustified generalizations, presenting their opinions in a rude manner.This combined with the sentiment of many teachers that they put enormous effort into continuing education despite the school closure became a significant stressor.This was also in line with (potentially) constant observation of teachers' occupational activities by students' parents.Unlike before, during the COVID-19 pandemic the parents had the possibility to take part in almost all the lessons and even record them.These mechanisms increased the feeling of the teachers as being constantly exposed and evaluated, which had also been present before the pandemic but to a lesser extent.
ity.The first attempts at online didactics were full of failures and inevitable problems that were difficult for students and their parents.However, the critics were often exaggerating and making unjustified generalizations, presenting their opinions in a rude manner.This combined with the sentiment of many teachers that they put enormous effort into continuing education despite the school closure became a significant stressor.This was also in line with (potentially) constant observation of teachers' occupational activities by students' parents.Unlike before, during the COVID-19 pandemic the parents had the possibility to take part in almost all the lessons and even record them.These mechanisms increased the feeling of the teachers as being constantly exposed and evaluated, which had also been present before the pandemic but to a lesser extent.

A significant factor that could be interpreted as an important stressor connected to the occupational life of teachers were problems with the use of information and communication technologies.Although the prolonged use of technologies was obvious and related to the A significant factor that could be interpreted as an important stressor connected to the occupational life of teachers were problems with the use of information and communication technologies.Although the prolonged use of technologies was obvious and related to their need in conducting remote teaching, the studies focused on qualitative aspects of that use have shown that the large part of the teacher population used technologies in a way that might have heightened the occupational stress.For example, nearly 90% were very often/often constantly ready to check Internet notifications, almost 80% felt that they were overwhelmed by the information volume and 60% wanted to be inaccessible online (Bigaj and Dębski, 2021).It is worth mentioning that the referred study surveyed not only teachers but also their students.In most of the cases, the indicators of problematic Internet use were more prevalent among teachers as compared with their students.This is contrary to the popular beliefs that problematic Internet use should be viewed as the problem of the young generation exclusively (Bigaj and Dębski, 2021;Tomczyk, 2019).
r need in conducting remote teaching, the studies focused on qualitative aspects of that use have shown that the large part of the teacher population used technologies in a way that might have heightened the occupational stress.For example, nearly 90% were very often/often constantly ready to check Internet notifications, almost 80% felt that they were overwhelmed by the information volume and 60% wanted to be inaccessible online (Bigaj and Dębski, 2021).It is worth mentioning that the referred study surveyed not only teachers but also their students.In most of the cases, the indicators of problematic Internet use were more prevalent a

ng teachers as compared with their students.This i
contrary to the popular beliefs that problematic Internet use should be viewed as the problem of the young generation exclusively (Bigaj and Dębski, 2021;Tomczyk, 2019).

Another stressor is connected to a lower quality of important occupational relations.One in three teachers assessed the quality of relations among the staff © 2022 by: Jacek Pyżalski, Wiesław Poleszak This is an Open Access Article Under the CC BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)members in their schools as lower during the pandemic when compared to the period before the school closure.One in ten similarly assessed their relations with the school headmaster.Twenty percent of teachers assessed the relations with students' parents during the pandemic as worse than those before (Pyżalski, 2021a).Additionally, teachers who defined the staff relations as worse during the pandemic had a higher level of psychosomatic complaints and depressive mood in comparison with those assessing those relations as similar or better than before the pandemic.In the context of research into stress, depressive mood and psychosomatic complaints may be, to some extent, understood as correlates of higher stress.This phenomenon is particularly observable among teachers with longer tenure (Nowak, 2021b).

The review of the literature shows that few studies directly focused on the measurement of the salutogenic factors that could be defined as protecting factors in terms of occupational stress and burn-out.A lot of respondents of interviews conducted by Gliwicka and Sikorska (2022) enumerated various positive aspects of remote education.They described aspects such as observation of particular students that progressed in remote education (as compared with the time before the pandemic), satisfaction stemming from mastering new competences, in particular those linked to educational usage of ICT or communication with students and parents.


Teachers' well-being Another stressor is connected to a lower quality of important occupational relations.One in three teachers assessed the quality of relations among the staff © 2022 by: Jacek Pyżalski, Wiesław Poleszak This is an Open Access Article Under the CC BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)members in their schools as lower during the pandemic when compared to the period before the school closure.One in ten similarly assessed their relations with the school headmaster.Twenty percent of teachers assessed the relations with students' parents during the pandemic as worse than those before (Pyżalski, 2021a).Additionally, teachers who defined the staff relations as worse during the pandemic had a higher level of psychosomatic complaints and depressive mood in comparison with those assessing those relations as similar or better than before the pandemic.In the context of research into stress, depressive mood and psychosomatic complaints may be, to some extent, understood as correlates of higher stress.This phenomenon is particularly observable among teachers with longer tenure (Nowak, 2021b).
The review of the literature shows that few studies directly focused on the measurement of the salutogenic factors that could be defined as protecting factors in terms of occupational stress and burn-out.A lot of respondents of interviews conducted by Gliwicka and Sikorska (2022) enumerated various positive aspects of remote education.They described aspects such as observation of particular students that progressed in remote education (as compared with the time before the pandemic), satisfaction stemming from mastering new competences, in particular those linked to educational usage of ICT or communication with students and parents.

Teachers' well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic
during the COVID-19 pandemic

The study conducted by Bigaj and Dębski (2021) indicates that teachers are a group whose quality of mental life has been significantly reduced by the pandemic crisis.Sixty-five percent of teachers surveyed, reported worse or much worse mental well-being as compared with the pre-pandemic period, with nearly a third (30%) of respondents indicating that they feel much worse.It is worth mentioning that among the three groups surveyed (students, parents and teachers), it was the teachers who have endured the pandemic the worst (statistically significant differences at p < 0.001).Almost a third (30%) of teachers reported feeling much worse after the pandemic (with only 18% of students and 14% of parents selecting this response).Among the teachers themselves, teachers with longer work experience coped with the situation much worse in terms of their mental state (p < 0.022).In the group of teachers with more than 20 years of teaching experience, as many as 68% observed a decline in mental well-being (32% in The study conducted by Bigaj and Dębski (2021) indicates that teachers are a group whose quality of mental life has been significantly reduced by the pandemic crisis.Sixty-five percent of teachers surveyed, reported worse or much worse mental well-being as compared with the pre-pandemic period, with nearly a third (30%) of respondents indicating that they feel much worse.It is worth mentioning that among the three groups surveyed (students, parents and teachers), it was the teachers who have endured the pandemic the worst (statistically significant differences at p < 0.001).Almost a third (30%) of teachers reported feeling much worse after the pandemic (with only 18% of students and 14% of parents selecting this response).Among the teachers themselves, teachers with longer work experience coped with the situation much worse in terms of their mental state (p < 0.022).In the group of teachers with more than 20 years of teaching experience, as many as 68% observed a decline in mental well-being (32% indicated a significant decrease in their mood).In the aforementioned study (Bigaj and Dębski, 2021), teachers were also asked about another element of well-being -their physical fitness.In this area, even more, 68% of the surveyed teachers complained about the deterioration of their physical condition after the COVID-19 pandemic and remote teaching.As with mental fitness, teachers emerged from the pandemic with the worst sense of physical fitness.Nearly © 2022 by: Jacek Pyżalski, Wiesław Poleszak This is an Open Access Article Under the CC BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)30% of teachers reported a substantial decline in fitness in this area (compared to 19% of students and 14% of parents -statistically significant differences at p < 0.001).The research on well-being conducted by Jankowiak and Jaskulska (2020) had a slightly different focus.The authors looked for the relationship between psychological well-being and attitudes towards remote education.(Jankowiak and Jaskulska, 2020).

cated a significant decrease in their mood).In
the aforementioned study (Bigaj and Dębski, 2021), teachers were also asked about another element of well-being -their physical fitness.In this area, even more, 68% of the surveyed teachers complained about the deteriorati n of their physical condition after the COVID-19 pandemic and remote teaching.As with mental fitness, teachers emerged from the pandemic with the worst sense of physical fitness.Nearly © 2022 by: Jacek Pyżalski, Wiesław Poleszak This is an Open Access Article Under the CC BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)30% of teachers reported a substantial decline in fitness in this area (compared to 19% of students and 14% of parents -statistically significant differences at p < 0.001).The research on well-being conducted by Jankowiak and Jaskulska (2020) had a slightly different focus.The authors looked for the relationship between psychological well-being and attitudes towards remote education.(Jankowiak and Jaskulska, 2020).

The average score of all scales is 5.733 (Min.-1, Max.-8; SD = 1.042).It indicates quite high well-being of the surveyed teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic.However, it should be remembered that this result is an average, so there may be people in the group who cope much worse with the pandemic.This is confirmed in further analyses conducted by the authors of the study which showed significant differences related to the attitudes towards remote teaching.Teachers who had a sense of high well-being also had positive attitudes towards remote teaching.Psychological well-being can also include a sense of support from the social environment.Thus, a study by Pisula et al. (2020) indicates that in the period of the pandemic, teachers could count on extensive support from relatives, friends and acquaintances as well as colleagues (although opinions are divided here).By contrast, they were disappointed by the lack of support from their supervisor (28.8%) and from the local community and authorities (51.8%) and parents (25.8%).


Teachers' health during the COVID-19 pandemic

A study by Bigaj and Dębski (2021) also analysed mental and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic.In terms of mental health, teachers' depressive mood was examined.Four questions were used to measure this aspect:

1. Were you sad? 2. Did you feel lonely?3. Did you feel depressed?4. Did you feel like crying?(Bigaj and Dębski, 2021).The responses were ranging on a 4-point scale (never or rarely, sometimes, often, all the time).Of the above-mentioned depressive mood elements, feeling depressed was dominant.The category often and all the time was selected by 29% © 2022 by: Jacek Pyżalski, Wiesław Poleszak This is an Open Access Article Under the CC BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) of the teachers surveyed (often -23%, all the time -6%).Only slightly fewer (27% of teachers) reported an accompanying sense of sadness (often -22%, all the time -5%).An intensified feeling of loneliness in the previous week was reported by 20% of the respondents and the desire to cry -by 17% (Bigaj and Dębski, 2021).Compared with the other groups studied (parents and students), teachers rank slightly below the intensity of negative affect observed in students and they significantly differ from parents (Bigaj and Dębski, 2021).In the follow-up questions, the amount of perceived nervousness and depressed and bad mood in the previous month was also measured.These were felt several times or more in the previous month by 43% of teachers (a higher result than in the student group, especially since there were far fewer teachers who did not feel such states).

One in three teachers also reported feeling depressed and being in a bad mood (a dozen or more times in the previous month).The above data correspond well with the results of a study by Buchner, Fereniec-Błońska and Wierzbicka (2021), who report that 17% of teachers felt disillusionment and helplessness during the pandemic period and 16% even felt burn-out.Although the study did not directly concern the pandemic, it was conducted during the pandemic time.As for the physical health, the researchers asked about somatic complaints The average score of all scales is 5.733 (Min.-1, Max.-8; SD = 1.042).It indicates quite high well-being of the surveyed teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic.However, it should be remembered that this result is an average, so there may be people in the group who cope much worse with the pandemic.This is confirmed in further analyses conducted by the authors of the study which showed significant differences related to the attitudes towards remote teaching.Teachers who had a sense of high well-being also had positive attitudes towards remote teaching.Psychological well-being can also include a sense of support from the social environment.Thus, a study by Pisula et al. (2020) indicates that in the period of the pandemic, teachers could count on extensive support from relatives, friends and acquaintances as well as colleagues (although opinions are divided here).By contrast, they were disappointed by the lack of support from their supervisor (28.8%) and from the local community and authorities (51.8%) and parents (25.8%).

Teachers' health during the COVID-19 pandemic
A study by Bigaj and Dębski (2021) also analysed mental and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic.In terms of mental health, teachers' depressive mood was examined.Four questions were used to measure this aspect: 1. Were you sad? 2. Did you feel lonely?3. Did you feel depressed?4. Did you feel like crying?(Bigaj and Dębski, 2021).The responses were ranging on a 4-point scale (never or rarely, sometimes, often, all the time).Of the above-mentioned depressive mood elements, feeling depressed was dominant.The category often and all the time was selected by 29% © 2022 by: Jacek Pyżalski, Wiesław Poleszak This is an Open Access Article Under the CC BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) of the teachers surveyed (often -23%, all the time -6%).Only slightly fewer (27% of teachers) reported an accompanying sense of sadness (often -22%, all the time -5%).An intensified feeling of loneliness in the previous week was reported by 20% of the respondents and the desire to cry -by 17% (Bigaj and Dębski, 2021).Compared with the other groups studied (parents and students), teachers rank slightly below the intensity of negative affect observed in students and they significantly differ from parents (Bigaj and Dębski, 2021).In the follow-up questions, the amount of perceived nervousness and depressed and bad mood in the previous month was also measured.These were felt several times or more in the previous month by 43% of teachers (a higher result than in the student group, especially since there were far fewer teachers who did not feel such states).
One in three teachers also reported feeling depressed and being in a bad mood (a dozen or more times in the previous month).The above data correspond well with the results of a study by Buchner, Fereniec-Błońska and Wierzbicka (2021), who report that 17% of teachers felt disillusionment and helplessness during the pandemic period and 16% even felt burn-out.Although the study did not directly concern the pandemic, it was conducted during the pandemic time.As for the physical health, the researchers asked about somatic complaints such as headaches, abdominal pain, lack of energy and sleeping difficulty.These are classic adaptation symptoms in coping with crises of any kind.Thus, one in three teachers experienced frequently (several times or more) a lack of energy.In turn, one in four respondents reported difficulties in falling asleep (25%).Frequent pandemic headaches were experienced by 18% of teachers.Far fewer respondents (only 8%) reported frequent abdominal pain.The severity of somatic symptoms in the group of teachers is similar to the conditions experienced by students and significantly higher than those experienced by parents.Thus, it can be concluded that teachers are similarly burdened with negative effects in terms of somatic symptoms as students.Such somatic burdens were reported by twice as many teachers as parents.Buchner and Wierzbicka, (2020) in the qualitative part of their study report that the main problems faced by teachers during the pandemic period were "exhaustion, stress about students, anxiety to meet the programme requirements, loneliness, but also many physical ailments related to the lack of digital hygiene (e.g.problems with eyesight or spine)" (Buchner and Wierzbicka, 2020).Health problems associated with long hours of sitting in front of a computer were also indicated in a study by Łukasik et al. (2020).The surveyed teachers complained of back pain, headaches and insomnia (Łukasik et al., 2020).States bordering on occupational burn-out or depressive mood were also indicated in the studies by Nowak (2021a) and Szaban and Lisowski (2022).The study of Szaban and Lisowski (2022) was carried out only on the local population (the city of Zielona Góra) but it indicated numerous negative aspects of teachers' mental health.The most © 2022 by: Jacek Pyżalski, Wiesław Poleszak This is an Open Access Article Under the CC BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)disturbing and the most intense were (due to multiple choice possibility the results do not add up to 100): feeling constantly tired (77.8%), constant worry about something (63.8%), feeling that everything I do requires a lot of effort (61%), many things depress me (55.3%), having trouble sleeping (41.6%).The study conducted by Pisula et al. (2020) asked about the subjective assessment of the intensity of anxiety and depressive states.According to the study, "depressive symptoms were declared by more than half of the respondents (57%), of which 16% experienced very high intensity of those.In turn, anxiety symptoms were declared by 56% of the respondents, including very severe symptoms in 15% of them" (Pisula et al., 2020, p. 42).

ch as he
daches, abdominal pain, lack of energy and sleeping difficulty.These are classic adaptation symptoms in coping with crises of any kind.Thus, one in three teachers experienced frequently (several times or more) a lack of energy.In turn, one in four respondents reported difficulties in falling asleep (25%).Frequent pandemic headaches were experienced by 18% of teachers.Far fewer respondents (only 8%) reported frequent abdominal pain.The severity of somatic symptoms in the group of teachers is similar to the conditions experienced by students and significantly higher than those experienced by parents.Thus, it can be concluded that teachers are similarly burdened with negative effects in terms of somatic symptoms as students.Such somatic burdens were reported by twice as many teachers as parents.Buchner and Wierzbicka, (2020) in the qualitative part of their study report that the main problems faced by teachers during the pandemic period were "exhaustion, stress about students, anxiety to meet the programme requirements, loneliness, but also many physical ailments related to the lack of digital hygiene (e.g.problems with eyesight or spine)" (Buchner and Wierzbicka, 2020).Health problems associated with long hours of sitting in front of a computer were also indicated in a study by Łukasik et al. (2020).The surveyed teachers complained of back pain, headaches and insomnia (Łukasik et al., 2020).States bordering on occupational burn-out or depressive mood were also indicated in the studies by Nowak (2021a) and Szaban and Lisowski (2022).The study of Szaban and Lisowski (2022) was carried out only on the local population (the city of Zielona Góra) but it indicated numerous negative aspects of teachers' mental health.The most © 2022 by: Jacek Pyżalski, Wiesław Poleszak This is an Open Access Article Under the CC BY 4.0 Lice

e (http://creativecommons.o
g/licenses/by/4.0/)disturbing and the most intense were (due to multiple choice possibility the results do not add up to 100): feeling constantly tired (77.8%), constant worry about something (63.8%), feeling that everything I do requires a lot of effort (61%), man things depress me (55.3%), having trouble sleeping (41.6%).The study conducted by Pisula et al. (2020) asked about the subjective assessment of the intensity of anxiety and depressive states.According to he study, "depressive symptoms were declared by more than half of the respondents (57%), of which 16% experienced very high intensity of those.In turn, anxiety symptoms were declared by 56% of the respondents, includin very severe symptoms in 15% of them" (Pisula et al., 2020, p. 42).


SUMMARY

The review of research reports from studies conducted in Poland during

SUMMARY
The review of research reports from studies conducted in Poland during the emergency remote education period confirmed that the aspects such as teachers' mental health and well-being during the pandemic were rarely addressed by researchers.This was particularly true when research on mental health of the young generation during this period was analyzed.At the same time, schools and other educational institutions very rarely implemented measures aimed at supporting the mental health of their teaching staff.However, some researchers identified schools that from the very beginning of the remote education period implemented such measures.This was the case of some private schools where teachers had regular meetings with a psychologist or were offered mutual social support within the team (Buchner et al., 2020).Additionally, some non-governmental organizations supporting education offered open webinars covering issues related to teachers' mental health and potential measures that teachers may have implemented at the individual level.It should be underlined that higher levels of occupational stress and lower well-being are influenced simultaneously by factors connected to the teachers' workplace but also those connected to other spheres of teacher's life.Methodologically, it is difficult to measure in a reliable way which factors actually contributed to teachers' well-being and stress, and how they are connected and overlap.Surely, as presented in this research review, the pandemic period brought a variety of new stressors and/or modified or increased the former stressors present also in the teacher's occupational environment before the pandemic.Below (see Table 2) we display a list of stressors experienced by the Polish teachers during the pandemic that have been identified in the studies conducted during the school closure period.
he emergency remote education period confirmed that the aspects such as teachers' mental health and well-being during the pandemic were rarely addressed by researchers.This was particularly true when research on mental health of the young generation during

his period was analyzed.At the same time, schools and o
her educational institutions very rarely implemented measures aimed at supporting the mental health of their teaching staff.However, some researchers identified schools that from the very beginning of the remote education period implemented such measures.This was the case of some private schools where teachers ha regular meetings with a psychologist or were offered mutual social support within the team (Buchner et al., 2020).Additionally, some non-governmental organizations supporting education offered open webinars covering issues related to teachers' mental health and potential measures that teachers may have implemented at the individual level.It should be underlined that

igher levels
of occupational stress and lower well-being are influenced simultaneously by factors connected to the teachers' workplace but also those connected to other spheres of teacher's life.Methodologically, it is difficult to measure in a reliable way which factors actually contributed to teachers' well-being and stress, and how they are connected and overlap.Surely, as presented in this research review, the pandemic period brought a variety of new stressors and/or modified or increased the former stressors present also in the teacher's occupational environment before the pandemic.Below (see Table 2) we display a list of stressors experienced by the Polish teachers during the pandemic that have been identified in the studies conducted during the school closure period.


Lower quality of important relations connected to teacher's work

Mostly, it covers relations among the staff members as well as between the headmaster and teachers.Additionally, it also includes relations between teachers and students' parents/guardians.


Possibility of permanent observation of teacher's work

Due to the fact that all educational activities were conducted with the use of digital tools, parents and other people had easy access to teachers' performance.Simultaneously, this was related to the public criticism of the emergency remote education quality, which sometimes became very radical and generalized.

The results confirmed that teacher stress and well-being are dynamic phenomena which change in terms of their phenomenology and etiology.The data show that even when the pandemic did not always produce totally new stressors, it certainly modified the traditional ones, sometimes giving rise to a new context (e.g.work-life balance when work from home became common).


CONCLUSIONS

To sum up, teaching is a profession with high lev

Lower quality of important relations connected to teacher's work
Mostly, it covers relations among the staff members as well as between the headmaster and teachers.Additionally, it also includes relations between teachers and students' parents/guardians.

Possibility of permanent observation of teacher's work
Due to the fact that all educational activities were conducted with the use of digital tools, parents and other people had easy access to teachers' performance.Simultaneously, this was related to the public criticism of the emergency remote education quality, which sometimes became very radical and generalized.
The results confirmed that teacher stress and well-being are dynamic phenomena which change in terms of their phenomenology and etiology.The data show that even when the pandemic did not always produce totally new stressors, it certainly modified the traditional ones, sometimes giving rise to a new context (e.g.work-life balance when work from home became common).

CONCLUSIONS
To sum up, teaching is a profession with high levels of stressors and occupational stress that have a substantial impact on mental health and well-being.The research projects conducted during the pandemic (although only few in number) confirmed that teachers should be offered mental health promotion programs at both © 2022 by: Jacek Pyżalski, Wiesław Poleszak This is an Open Access Article Under the CC BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) the institutional and the individual levels.Such programs should be based on an empirical diagnosis of specific aspects and mechanisms of the phenomena that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic (Pyżalski and Merecz, 2010;Zaród, 2020).Most of the studies analyzed indicate that teachers' well-being declined during the remote teaching period, both in the mental and the physical aspect.More than two-thirds of teachers experienced lowered mood and decreased physical fitness during the pandemic period.Support from loved ones and colleagues should be considered as a protective factor in coping with the pandemic crisis.What made coping with pandemic challenges more difficult was limited support from supervisors, parents, the local community and authorities.During the COVID-19 pandemic, many teachers also experienced health deterioration, both in terms of their somatic and mental state.The predominant somatic symptoms included back pain, headaches and sleeping difficulty, but also deterioration of eyesight due to prolonged work in front of a computer screen.Many teachers experienced psychological complaints in the form of sadness and depressed moods during the remote teaching and pandemic period.More than half of those surveyed reported depressive and anxiety symptoms, with about 15% of teachers experiencing these symptoms in high intensity.

mechanisms
education period, psychological problems and support © 2022 by: Jacek Pyżalski, Wiesław Poleszak This is an Open Access Article Under the CC BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Table 2 .
Occupational stressors in teacher's work during the pandemic (as identified in the analyzed studies) Problematic Internet use Use of digital technologies that poses threat to well-being (e.g. by disorganizing sleeping time or reducing time for rest).