Impact of Work From Home for Teachers During #COVID19

We all have this new word added to our vocabulary during the past three months, #WFH work from home, earlier this was the domain of IT professionals, most who don't work in that sector would have looked at our friends and family with envy, saying you are living a pampered life. Especially for people in the teaching community, it was a distant dream which has no way of coming true. Enter Corona everything which was considered impossible became possible. Google Meet, Google Classroom, Zoom, WhatsApp Groups, Google Sheets made work from home possible to teachers also. So how is the grass in this side of the meadow?

"My day starts with a group message at 7:30 am and ends with a update at 6:30 pm, interspread with faculty meetings during lunch break and team meetings after classes" Anoymous Teacher

Extended work hours

So a typical day for a teacher starts with the head of the institution sending out the days agenda through WhatsApp group, next it will be followed by a text by the individual task in-charge sending their requirements on what needs to be done, this will be followed by frantic texts by students complaining they are unable to join the classroom or asking doubts. Some teachers even have it worse, where there is only a few minutes between one class and another. By the time they finish the class, various meeting and other discussions, it would be evening and they have still not finished their classroom evaluations and other tasks, so they sit extend and work so that they are not found wanting in the next class. The average teacher spends around minimum 10 hours per day doing academic and official work on a normal day. This is the plight of any teacher whose organisation is heavily into the digital classroom.

"I am asked to do additional work which is not my core functional role and i am judged for not producing satisfactory result in that activity"- Ramesh

Over worked and never appreciated

One of the frequent jibes which is given to the teaching fraternity is "you guys have it good, 8 hour jobs, lots of free time and yearly vacation " this is not the reality, in most schools and colleges, teachers are made to do a lot of work in addition to what their job description says. If there is an Inspection, teachers are asked to stay back and prepare the classroom, if it is a function teachers should stay back and go when all the lights are out. It is something which teachers have grown used to it, but this new #WFH has made it even difficult, for teachers, they have to spend a lot of time online, they have to pick up additional tasks like marketing, reaching out to parents, counselling students through social media etc.. In one of the Institution i know, every new initiative is pushed on to the teachers and they are made to assume full responsibility for the outcome. The teacher who confided in me said, the sad thing is the head of the institution is never satisfied and is quick to blame the faculties if the new initiative fails, but keeps quite when the initiative succeeds. This is the situation of most teachers during this #WFH period, overworked and never appreciated.

"How can an organisation be so inefficient and irresponsible, that they never communicate on time" - Rakesh

No clarity in the policy

One frequent complaint i get from various teachers is the leaders of their organisation are sending conflicting policy statements everyday. One of the teachers who spoke to me said, that they have started to work six days even-though they had a 5 day week before the WFH started. One another horror story is some colleges started to ignore government holidays for faculties, students were given leave and faculties were asked to carry on other activities on the holidays. Some colleges and schools have not paid the teachers salary for the past three months citing no revenue during this period. This teacher asked a simple question, can you believe that this huge institution has no money and are running a hand to mouth existence? Most of the educational institutions do not have a clear cut HR policy and they coerce most faculty into agreeing to their terms, which will change dynamically to suit the management running the institution.

"I have spent more than a decade in teaching, i have no other career path available, what can i do?" - Shailaja

Depressed and Disappointed

I am doing the same job i did when i joined teaching, there is no growth in my career, this is the common grouse among various teachers , the career opportunity for teachers is very limited in India and even if they are available, the position is at entry level. The teaching fraternity in most self financing educational institutions is depressed and disappointed especially in this new WFH situation.

Conclusion

I am also a teacher in a self financing educational institution, and i know of the struggles of running a business, but what i found lacking in most of the institutions is the lack of empathy and willingness to listen to their employees. All the people who i talked to are grateful for their Institutions to give them employment during this tough time, but they are dissatisfied with the way they are treated . For all the business leaders who might read this, i would like to make an appeal the next time you come across a job application by a teacher, instead of simply throwing it into the reject list, call them and have a discussion, who might know you may get the next star of your company. And finally for all teachers who read this, be brave and head along with your head held high, for we are the ones who shape the future of this world.

 First Published in LinkedIn on 24-5-2020