The Impact of the COVID-19 Epidemic on University Students Mental Workload

Corrales, C.; Rojas, J.; Atoche, W.

The present article aims the study was to examine the mental load in the academic performance of engineering students in times of COVID-19. The problem of mental load increases in students, because in addition to studies, they must carry out pre-professional internships in companies. However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the characteristics of the study have changed;now they do them virtually from their homes. Pre-professional practices are carried out in companies, being of two types: 1) the student works in the company premises, complying with all biosafety protocols, and 2) the student works from home in the telework model. The study analyzed the new study and work characteristics of students, where they remain seated in front of the computer for several hours a day, without physical contact with their teachers and their classmates. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on students’ mental load and compare it with the mental load they had in pre-pandemic times. The result was that now the students, for different reasons, including confinement, have a greater mental load than in normal times. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.