Coping with stress among academic staff in times of crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic compelled higher education institutions to transition immediately to emergency remote teaching (ERT), placing significant professional and psychological demands on academic staff. Grounded in Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study examined how internal psychological and external professional resources were associated with perceived stress among academic staff at a multicultural teacher-training college in Israel. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed; quantitative data were collected from 83 faculty members using measures of perceived stress, resilience, self-efficacy, social-emotional competencies, and digital skills. In parallel, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 academics to deepen understanding of coping processes. Findings revealed moderate levels of perceived stress alongside relatively strong coping resources. Resilience emerged as the most robust predictor of lower stress in the regression analysis, whereas self-efficacy, social-emotional competencies, and digital skills did not demonstrate significant independent effects. Gender differences were observed, with women reporting lower resilience levels, and prior online teaching experience was associated with lower stress and higher resilience. The qualitative findings complemented and deepened the quantitative results by highlighting the role of self-awareness, relational support, and institutional professional training in sustaining coping during the transition to ERT. Although culturally nuanced coping narratives emerged in the interviews, these should be interpreted cautiously due to the modest qualitative sample. Overall, the findings are discussed from both theoretical and practical perspectives, emphasizing coping as a multilevel resource process and highlighting the central role of resilience in supporting adaptation during institutional crisis.