This survey doesn’t surprise me in the least.
Earlier this fall, a McMaster University research team published the findings of a broad survey that sought to take the temperature of the university and college workplace almost a year-and-a-half into the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the major findings won’t come as a surprise to academic staff: many of the 475 respondents reported that the COVID-19 distancing restrictions had eroded productivity, as labs closed, field research activities ceased and parents of young children, particularly women, found themselves juggling domestic and professional duties.
But two other findings offered a more somber and textured look at the impact of the pandemic. More than half of those surveyed said they thought more or much more about death than they had before the World Health Organization declared a global state of emergency in March 2020.
I didn’t always have to fake enthusiasm about going in to work; I am in my dream job. Right now, though, the only things keeping me going are the students — they’re a good bunch who deserve my full attention. I just have to work to make sure they get it.