Revista Finlay (Nov 2022)
Return to Attendance: Protective and Risk Factors Identified by Workers of Chilean Higher Education Institutions
Abstract
Background: the pandemic associated with COVID-19 forced the search for ways to sustain processes and services. The teleworking modality became an ally to be able to cope with work from home. In 2022, the process of returning to presence in Chilean Higher Education began. Objective: to identify protective and hindering factors identified by academic and non-academic workers of Chilean Higher Education institutions to return to attendance. Method: a descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out. We worked with a total sample of 124 participants. The sample was obtained from the voluntary participation of academic and non-academic officials who responded to a survey via form. The data was collected between October 2021 and March 2022. A questionnaire was applied about protective and hindering factors present in safe return. The data was recoded to work with frequencies and percentages of responses. Results: the greatest obstacles perceived for the return to work presence correspond to people who declare the presence of chronic disease and some symptom associated with mental health (52-58 %). People under 40 years of age identified the immunization factor and being in good health as facilitating factors for returning to attendance (54-62 %). Conclusions: organizations must develop support programs for return to work, so that these actions favor better levels of well-being at work. Differences in age, gender and the presence of previous chronic pathologies are considered as factors that hinder return.
