Job satisfaction and employee engagement of Finnish teachers : Remote working during COVID-19

Abstract

Due to outbreak of COVID 19 pandemic, the world has shifted towards online mode of work which is causing numerous problems to the employees. Employees are facing mental problems due to difficulty of remote working. In similar way, education institutes are also affected by remote working. Teachers are also affected by this mode of work. Review of previous literature was performed regarding all the element and topics of the current study. Literature on education system of Finland was assessed which comprised of the levels of education system of Finland and qualifications of the teachers were discussed in detail. Then elements of remote working environment were discussed which consisted of the elements like online teachings and remote working and also the difficulties of teachers in remote working environment were discussed in detail.

The aim of this research is to find the level of job satisfaction and employee engagement among Finnish teachers to better understand their point of view and provide solutions to their problems. Mixed method of research is opted consisting of both qualitative and quantitative methods. Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and Employee Engagement Questionnaire were used for collecting quantitative data and semi-structured interviews were conducted for qualitative data. The data was analyzed statistically.

It was found that majority of the teachers are satisfied with their jobs. On the other hand, results also revealed that teachers experience poor employee engagement during remote working environment. Both quantitative and qualitative results are consistent with each other. The study concluded that despite the difficulties of remote working environment, teachers were satisfied with their jobs as they were able to learn new skills during this period. They faced issues of employee engagement but it did not affect their overall job satisfaction