Commitment Under Pressure
The Paradox of Post-Pandemic Workforce Recovery in Canadian Education
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22043232 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lesley Eblie Trudel (0000-0002-0602-7402, University of Winnipeg), Laura Sokal (0000-0002-7543-8416, University of Winnipeg) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 4 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-19 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Education Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2227-7102 • E-ISSN: 2227-7102 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/educsci16010004 |
| OpenAlex | W4417502935 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 34 |
This study examines how the education sector in one Canadian province has navigated post-pandemic recovery between 2023 and 2025, drawing on cross-sectional survey data from a convenience sample of sector employees in the 2023–2024 (n = 1411) and 2024–2025 (n = 742) school years. The findings revealed selective improvement over time, including increased organizational commitment among teachers and other education workforce members, alongside reduced perceptions of students’ academic, social, and behavioural needs. Teachers indicated no corresponding increases in their perceived frequency of meeting students’ needs, whereas other educator sector employees indicated improvement in this area. In contrast, no year-over-year differences were found in the education workforce members’ and teachers’ stress, coping, well-being or connectedness, and job search behaviours remained high, ranging from 14 to 43%. Guided by the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model, these findings suggest that post-pandemic recovery reflects the establishment of a new and complex baseline. The coexistence of improved commitment with persistent job strain signals a paradox of stability amid depletion. Qualitative responses reinforced this interpretation, revealing how educators adapt to ongoing organizational resource constraints and shifting student needs. Together, the findings extend JD-R-informed understandings of post-crisis workforce adaptation and identify implications for leadership and policy aimed at supporting organizational health and workforce sustainability
Higher education · Human resource management · Job performance · Organizational culture · Perception · Qualitative research · Workforce · COVID-19 and Mental Health · COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts · Work-Family Balance Challenges
Job Demands–Resources theory and self-regulation
Teachers, Stress, and the Covid-19 Pandemic
Canadian teachers’ attitudes toward change, efficacy, and burnout during the Covid-19 pandemic
Supporting Teachers in Times of Change
Effects of teachers' emotion regulation, burnout, and life satisfaction on student well-being
The Job Demands‐Resources model
Logistic regression of post-pandemic organizational commitment in teachers, principals, and educational assistants
Employee well‐being outcomes from individual‐level mental health interventions
Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis
Teacher stress, anxiety and depression at the beginning of the academic year during the Covid-19 pandemic
Canadian educators' post-pandemic recovery and students’ unmet needs
Teacher well-being and turnover intentions
Stress contagion in the classroom? The link between classroom teacher burnout and morning cortisol in elementary school students
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |