Two out of Three Korean Scientists "Unable to Focus on Research and Feeling Depressed After COVID-19"

Korea Research Foundation, Survey Results from 1,901 Participants

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing since 2020, has been found to suppress the research activities of domestic scientists and harm their mental health.

On the 24th, the National Research Foundation of Korea announced that a recent survey titled 'Post-COVID-19 Research Activities and Mental Health Survey' conducted on 1,901 domestic researchers revealed these findings.

Among all respondents, 66.2% (1,258 people) answered that their research-related activities had decreased, with 16.5% (314 people) reporting a significant decrease and 49.7% (944 people) reporting a decrease. Those who answered that their activities remained the same accounted for 27.1% (515 people), while those who said their activities increased were 6.2% (117 people), and those reporting a significant increase were only 0.6% (11 people).

This was due to increased time spent on household chores such as cleaning and childcare. Respondents reported that the average daily time spent on household chores increased significantly from 2.36 hours before the pandemic to 3.42 hours afterward. Additionally, among respondents (multiple answers allowed) regarding changes in daily life after the COVID-19 pandemic, 957 people said that the time spent on household tasks like laundry and cleaning increased the most. Those who said childcare time increased numbered 717. In contrast, fewer people reported increased time for their main work such as lecture preparation and teaching (799 people) and research activities (287 people). There were also a notable number of respondents who said their sleep time increased (248 people) and leisure or hobby time increased (185 people).

In particular, women, married individuals, and researchers in the humanities and social sciences were analyzed to have been more adversely affected by the pandemic. The foundation stated, "An analysis comparing research activities and outcomes by gender and academic field showed that male researchers in the humanities and social sciences were more active than female researchers." It also added, "An analysis comparing research activities and outcomes by marital status and academic field showed that in the natural sciences and engineering fields, unmarried researchers had higher research activity and outcomes."

Along with this, the negative impact on mental health was significant. 48.4% (920 people) of respondents reported that their mental health deteriorated during the pandemic, representing the largest proportion. A severe deterioration was reported by 9.2% (175 people). In total, 57.6% said their mental health worsened. Meanwhile, 29.5% (560 people) answered that their mental health remained the same, and fewer respondents reported improvement at 10.7% (204 people) and significant improvement at 2.2% (42 people).

The foundation pointed out the need to strengthen support for childcare and household duties. It emphasized expanding systems such as stopping the tenure clock, which allows researchers caring for minor children to defer promotion or tenure evaluations. The foundation stated, "It is necessary to segment the impact of COVID-19 by academic discipline and consider support measures for research groups experiencing relatively more negative effects. In particular, programs should be increased to prevent conflicts between work and family and to promote performance and career development for married female scientists in the natural sciences and engineering fields." It also stressed, "Actively operating psychological counseling and stress relief programs, implementing tailored programs, and encouraging participation are necessary to improve the deteriorated mental health conditions."