H - ealthy Professional Worker Partner 2 sh 0 ip: 23

Finally, although the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was not the focus of our research, our study was conducted near the beginning of the pandemic in North America, and we considered it important to examine how the pandemic affected the mental health of education workers given early evidence that the pandemic was having a major impact on the working population in general and on the education syst. [...] Figure 1 Conceptual Framework Depicting the pathway of mental health to leaves of absence to return to work and the influence of different factors and forces for professional workers with different identities can better enable the identification and development of targeted and more effective interventions to promote wellness and foster healthy return to work. [...] Career Stage of Education Worker Survey Respondents, Years in Profession Pathway from Mental Health, Leaves of Absence to Return to Work The main purpose of this study was to understand the pathway from experiencing mental health issues, making changes to work in response to mental health challenges, considering or taking a formal leave of absence for mental health reasons, and returning to work. [...] Facilitators & Barriers Identified by All Education Workers for Returning to Work After Taking a Formal Leave of Absence Impact of the Pandemic on the Mental Health of Education Workers Although the impact of the pandemic was not part of our original set of research questions, as it unfolded, it was clear the pandemic was having an important impact on the mental health experiences of professionals. [...] Mental Health Figure 15 shows responses to the single-item rating of mental health since the start of the pandemic and in the 4 weeks prior to the start of the pandemic for all education workers and by gender and panel type.