Since the beginning of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic there have been reports of declining mental wellness. In the academic sector, this elephant in the room has only acquired a bigger presence under lockdown. .
International studies indicate that more higher education employees are reporting high incidences of stress, anxiety and other forms of mental illness. In the UK, a 2019 report released by the Higher Education Policy Institute highlights an increase in referrals to counselling and occupational health services, in particular for female staff.
For women too, sexism is an additional lens to further dissect their contributions to the academic project. These factors combined can negatively affect the mental wellbeing of those working within higher education. Yet they are often neglected or considered outright taboo, unless pushed to the fore by a tragedy.
Some of the factors contributing to a decline in mental wellbeing or to mental illness included email overload, cyberbullying, online meetings fatigue, poor leadership and online learning development demands.
Don’t they get paid & have medical aids?