What Makes Them Happy?: Happiness of Teachers in the National Capital Region during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Main Article Content
Keywords
COVID-19, happiness index, teachers, well-being
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the education systems worldwide because of the sudden shift to online learning. In the Philippines, particularly in the National Capital Region, teachers faced enormous pressures to adapt to the new classroom environment. Using the Gross National Happiness framework, this preliminary pilot study evaluated the level of happiness and well-being of 53 teachers through an online questionnaire adapted from the Happiness Alliance's Happiness Index. Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between happiness and the ten well-being domains in the Happiness Index. Results showed that all ten domains had a statistically significant relationship with happiness, while material well-being, governance, and health emerged as dominant predictors. These baseline findings suggest that teacher well-being during a crisis extends beyond classroom concerns and may inform teacher-support policies, institutional crisis response, post-pandemic recovery planning, and future crisis preparedness.
References
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di Fronso, S., Costa, S., Montesano, C., Di Gruttola, F., Ciofi, E. G., Morgilli, L., Robazza, C., & Bertollo, M. (2020). The effects of COVID-19 pandemic on perceived stress and psychobiosocial states in Italian athletes. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2020.1802612
Easterlin, R. (2003). Explaining happiness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(19), 11176-11183.
Filmer, D., & Pritchett, L. (2001). Estimating wealth effects without expenditure data—or tears: An application to educational enrollments in states of India. Demography, 38(1), 115-132.
Happiness Alliance. (2014). The domains of happiness for the Gross National Happiness Index. http://www.slideshare.net/TheHappinessInitiative/the-domains-of-happiness-for-the-gross-national-happiness-index
Hascher, T., & Waber, J. (2021). Teacher well-being: A systematic review of the research literature from the year 2000–2019. Educational Research Review, 34, 100411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2021.100411
Jimenez, C., Vildac, J., & Membrebe, Z., Jr. (2026). What makes them happy? Measuring the happiness of Certified Public Accountants through the COVID-19 pandemic in Cotabato Province, Philippines. International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research, 7(5), 1900-1909. http://dx.doi. org/10.11594/ijmaber.07.05.06
Kauffman, D., Kraay, A., & Mastruzzi, M. (2005). Governance matters IV: Governance indicators for 1996-2004. World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-3630 Kim, L. E., & Asbury, K. (2020). 'Like a rug had been pulled from under you': The impact of COVID-19 on teachers in England during the first six weeks of the UK lockdown. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(4), 1062-1083. https://doi. org/10.1111/bjep.12381
König, J., Jäger-Biela, D. J., & Glutsch, N. (2020). Adapting to online teaching during COVID-19 school closure: Teacher education and teacher competence effects among early career teachers in Germany. European Journal of Teacher Education, 43(4), 608-622. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1809650
Limcaoco, R. S. G., Mateos, E. M., Fernandez, J. M., & Roncero, C. (2020). Anxiety, worry and perceived stress in the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, March 2020. Preliminary results [Preprint]. medRxiv. https://doi. org/10.1101/2020.04.03.20043992
MacIntyre, P. D., Gregersen, T., & Mercer, S. (2020). Language teachers' coping strategies during the COVID-19 conversion to online teaching: Correlations with stress, wellbeing and negative emotions. System, 94, 102352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102352
Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 2(2), 99-113. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397-422. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397
Montemayor, M. T. (2020). Education goes on amid COVID-19 thru DepEd's continuity plan. Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1126058
Oducado, R. M. F., Rabacal, J. S., Moralista, R. B., & Tamdang, K. A. (2021). Perceived stress due to COVID-19 pandemic among employed professional teachers. International Journal of Educational Research and Innovation, 15, 305-316. https://doi.org/10.46661/ijeri.5284
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2020). How's life? 2020: Measuring well-being. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9870c393-en
Pressley, T. (2021). Factors contributing to teacher burnout during COVID-19. Educational Researcher, 50(5), 325-327. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X211004138
Qiu, J., Shen, B., Zhao, M., Wang, Z., Xie, B., & Xu, Y. (2020). A nationwide survey of psychological distress among Chinese people in the COVID-19 epidemic: Implications and policy recommendations. General Psychiatry, 33(2), e100213. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/gpsych-2020-100213
Robosa, J., Paras, N. E., Perante, L., Alvez, T., & Tus, J. (2021). The experiences and challenges faced of the public school teachers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: A phenomenological study in the Philippines. International Journal of Advance Research and Innovative Ideas in Education, 7(1), 1342-1361. https://doi. org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14028833.v1
Schuelka, M. J., & Maxwell, T. W. (Eds.). (2016). Education in Bhutan: Culture, schooling, and Gross National Happiness. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-101649-3 Sirgy, M. J., Efraty, D., Siegel, P., & Lee, D.-J. (2001). A new measure of quality of work life (QWL) based on need satisfaction and spillover theories. Social Indicators Research, 55, 241-302. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010986923468
Sokal, L., Trudel, L. E., & Babb, J. (2020). Canadian teachers' attitudes toward change, efficacy, and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 1, 100016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ijedro.2020.100016
Solo, M. (2025). Understanding Stress. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/396933620_Understanding_Stress
Tamir, M., Schwartz, S., Oishi, S., & Kim, M. (2017). The Secret to Happiness: Feeling Good or Feeling Right?. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 146, 10, pp. 1448-1459. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000303 The World Bank. (2020). Primary education, teachers (% female) - Philippines. https:// data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.TCHR.FE.ZS?locations=PH
Thomas, K. P., Kumar, S., & Singh, P. P. (2021). Psychological well-being and quality of worklife of the school teachers during the COVID-19 situation. European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine, 7(7), 6309-6316. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (n.d.). Everyone included: Social impact of COVID-19. https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/everyone-included-covid-19.html
Ura, K., Alkire, S., Zangmo, T., & Wangdi, K. (2012). An extensive analysis of GNH Index. The Centre for Bhutan Studies. https://ophi.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-03/Ura_et_al_Extensive_analysis_of_GNH_index_2012.pdf
Ura, K. (2016). Gross National Happiness, values education and schooling for sustainability in Bhutan. In R. Gorana & P. Kanaujia (Eds.), Reorienting educational efforts for sustainable development: Experiences from South Asia (pp. 71-88). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7622-6_5
Van de Walle, S., & Bouckaert, G. (2003). Public service performance and trust in government: The problem of causality. International Journal of Public Administration, 29(8-9), 891-913.
Al-Sabbah, S., Darwish, A., Fares, N., Barnes, J., & Almomani, J.A. (2021). Biophysical factors linked with overall well-being of students and educators during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cogent Psychology, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331190 8.2021.1875550
AlAteeq, D. A., Aljhani, S., & AlEesa, D. (2020). Perceived stress among students in virtual classrooms during the COVID-19 outbreak in KSA. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 15(5), 398-403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jtumed.2020.07.004
Anderson, R., Bousselot, T., Katz-Buoinconctro, J., & Todd, J. (2021). Generating buoyancy in a sea of uncertainty: Teachers creativity and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.614774
Centre for Bhutan Studies and GNH. (2017). Happiness: Transforming the development landscape. https://philarchive.org/archive/METCV Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71-75. https://doi.org/10.1207/ s15327752jpa4901_13
Diener, E., Sapyta, J. J., & Suh, E. (1998). Subjective well-being is essential to well-being. Psychological Inquiry, 9, 33-37. http://dx.doi .org/10.1207/s15327965pli0901_3
di Fronso, S., Costa, S., Montesano, C., Di Gruttola, F., Ciofi, E. G., Morgilli, L., Robazza, C., & Bertollo, M. (2020). The effects of COVID-19 pandemic on perceived stress and psychobiosocial states in Italian athletes. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2020.1802612
Easterlin, R. (2003). Explaining happiness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(19), 11176-11183.
Filmer, D., & Pritchett, L. (2001). Estimating wealth effects without expenditure data—or tears: An application to educational enrollments in states of India. Demography, 38(1), 115-132.
Happiness Alliance. (2014). The domains of happiness for the Gross National Happiness Index. http://www.slideshare.net/TheHappinessInitiative/the-domains-of-happiness-for-the-gross-national-happiness-index
Hascher, T., & Waber, J. (2021). Teacher well-being: A systematic review of the research literature from the year 2000–2019. Educational Research Review, 34, 100411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2021.100411
Jimenez, C., Vildac, J., & Membrebe, Z., Jr. (2026). What makes them happy? Measuring the happiness of Certified Public Accountants through the COVID-19 pandemic in Cotabato Province, Philippines. International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research, 7(5), 1900-1909. http://dx.doi. org/10.11594/ijmaber.07.05.06
Kauffman, D., Kraay, A., & Mastruzzi, M. (2005). Governance matters IV: Governance indicators for 1996-2004. World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-3630 Kim, L. E., & Asbury, K. (2020). 'Like a rug had been pulled from under you': The impact of COVID-19 on teachers in England during the first six weeks of the UK lockdown. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(4), 1062-1083. https://doi. org/10.1111/bjep.12381
König, J., Jäger-Biela, D. J., & Glutsch, N. (2020). Adapting to online teaching during COVID-19 school closure: Teacher education and teacher competence effects among early career teachers in Germany. European Journal of Teacher Education, 43(4), 608-622. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1809650
Limcaoco, R. S. G., Mateos, E. M., Fernandez, J. M., & Roncero, C. (2020). Anxiety, worry and perceived stress in the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, March 2020. Preliminary results [Preprint]. medRxiv. https://doi. org/10.1101/2020.04.03.20043992
MacIntyre, P. D., Gregersen, T., & Mercer, S. (2020). Language teachers' coping strategies during the COVID-19 conversion to online teaching: Correlations with stress, wellbeing and negative emotions. System, 94, 102352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102352
Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 2(2), 99-113. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397-422. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397
Montemayor, M. T. (2020). Education goes on amid COVID-19 thru DepEd's continuity plan. Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1126058
Oducado, R. M. F., Rabacal, J. S., Moralista, R. B., & Tamdang, K. A. (2021). Perceived stress due to COVID-19 pandemic among employed professional teachers. International Journal of Educational Research and Innovation, 15, 305-316. https://doi.org/10.46661/ijeri.5284
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2020). How's life? 2020: Measuring well-being. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9870c393-en
Pressley, T. (2021). Factors contributing to teacher burnout during COVID-19. Educational Researcher, 50(5), 325-327. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X211004138
Qiu, J., Shen, B., Zhao, M., Wang, Z., Xie, B., & Xu, Y. (2020). A nationwide survey of psychological distress among Chinese people in the COVID-19 epidemic: Implications and policy recommendations. General Psychiatry, 33(2), e100213. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/gpsych-2020-100213
Robosa, J., Paras, N. E., Perante, L., Alvez, T., & Tus, J. (2021). The experiences and challenges faced of the public school teachers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: A phenomenological study in the Philippines. International Journal of Advance Research and Innovative Ideas in Education, 7(1), 1342-1361. https://doi. org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14028833.v1
Schuelka, M. J., & Maxwell, T. W. (Eds.). (2016). Education in Bhutan: Culture, schooling, and Gross National Happiness. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-101649-3 Sirgy, M. J., Efraty, D., Siegel, P., & Lee, D.-J. (2001). A new measure of quality of work life (QWL) based on need satisfaction and spillover theories. Social Indicators Research, 55, 241-302. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010986923468
Sokal, L., Trudel, L. E., & Babb, J. (2020). Canadian teachers' attitudes toward change, efficacy, and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 1, 100016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ijedro.2020.100016
Solo, M. (2025). Understanding Stress. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/396933620_Understanding_Stress
Tamir, M., Schwartz, S., Oishi, S., & Kim, M. (2017). The Secret to Happiness: Feeling Good or Feeling Right?. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 146, 10, pp. 1448-1459. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000303 The World Bank. (2020). Primary education, teachers (% female) - Philippines. https:// data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.TCHR.FE.ZS?locations=PH
Thomas, K. P., Kumar, S., & Singh, P. P. (2021). Psychological well-being and quality of worklife of the school teachers during the COVID-19 situation. European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine, 7(7), 6309-6316. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (n.d.). Everyone included: Social impact of COVID-19. https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/everyone-included-covid-19.html
Ura, K., Alkire, S., Zangmo, T., & Wangdi, K. (2012). An extensive analysis of GNH Index. The Centre for Bhutan Studies. https://ophi.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-03/Ura_et_al_Extensive_analysis_of_GNH_index_2012.pdf
Ura, K. (2016). Gross National Happiness, values education and schooling for sustainability in Bhutan. In R. Gorana & P. Kanaujia (Eds.), Reorienting educational efforts for sustainable development: Experiences from South Asia (pp. 71-88). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7622-6_5
Van de Walle, S., & Bouckaert, G. (2003). Public service performance and trust in government: The problem of causality. International Journal of Public Administration, 29(8-9), 891-913.
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Published
Jun 26, 2026
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How to Cite
Vildac, J.-R., & Jimenez, C. E. (2026). What Makes Them Happy?: Happiness of Teachers in the National Capital Region during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Normal Lights, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.56278/tnl.v20i1.4060
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Research Article
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