Facing Your Fear of COVID-19: Resilience as a Protective Factor Against Burnout in South African Teachers

OBJECTIVE: Frontline workers have been distinctively impacted by the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers, as frontline employees in the educational system, had to contend with unprecedented changes to their work role, as well as new job demands coupled with insufficient resources and the effects of the pandemic on their personal lives. While some teachers struggled to cope and reported intense levels of fear of COVID-19 and burnout, others were able to adapt and experienced a sense of growth and accomplishment. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the role of resilience in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and burnout among South African schoolteachers using a survey design. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Schoolteachers in South Africa (n = 355) were administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, and the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale-10. RESULTS: The results showed a positive relationship between fear of COVID-19 and emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Moreover, structural equation modeling confirmed a health-sustaining role for resilience as it had a significant direct effect on burnout. Resilience also partially mediated the impact of fear of COVID-19 on depersonalization as well as emotional exhaustion, and fully mediated the impact of fear of COVID-19 on personal accomplishment. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings underscore that promoting individual- and institutional-level strategies to support teachers is necessary to build resilience, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.