Determining the research status and coronavirus anxiety scores of academics during the flexible working arrangements initiated after the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to determine the effect of flexible work arrangements (FWA) initiated in Turkey due to the COVID-19 pandemic on research status of academics and their coronavirus anxiety scores. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 290 academicians participated and completed the questionnaire. The descriptive (by response frequency) and inferential statistics (chi-square, student’s t, and Anova tests) were performed for advanced data analysis. Results: We found that a majority of the academics (71%) did not conduct academic research after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and academic research was largely negatively affected (67.2%). Furthermore, women (53.9%) and those with higher Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) scores had low research output. Additionally, women (54.9%), the participants working in health faculties (52.8%) and those with a high CAS score were adversely affected (p < 0.001). Women, those working in healthcare faculties, and the younger participants had the highest CAS score (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The results of this study provide important data on the effects of the FWA implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic on academic research status and the coronavirus anxiety scores of academics.