Navigating High Staff Turnover: How Organizational Hierarchy Shaped Assisted Living Facility Employees’ Emotional Responses During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Assisted living facility and nursing home staff faced high virus exposure, long hours, and limited resources while caring for vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to a turnover crisis, as many long-term care facility employees left due to burnout, safety concerns, and emotiona...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Socius |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231251350173 |
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| Summary: | Assisted living facility and nursing home staff faced high virus exposure, long hours, and limited resources while caring for vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to a turnover crisis, as many long-term care facility employees left due to burnout, safety concerns, and emotional exhaustion. Framed within emotional labor theory and social structural theories of emotions, this study examines the emotional responses of frontline and managerial staff in assisted living facilities (ALFs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the impact of high turnover rates. Based on qualitative interview data from semistructured Zoom and in-person interviews with 29 employees at “Harmony House” in Oregon, this study highlights the hierarchical nature of emotional experiences in the workplace among frontline workers, middle management staff, and administrators in ALFs, shaped by high turnover rates during the pandemic. The findings also show that ALF employees attributed turnover to different factors based on their organizational roles. Whereas administrators often attributed turnover to the pandemic or generational traits, frontline and middle management staff emphasized persistent issues, such as low pay, understaffing, and safety risks. These divergent perspectives showcase how institutional hierarchies shape emotional understandings of workplace challenges, advancing the literature on emotional labor and organizational dynamics in long-term care. |
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| ISSN: | 2378-0231 |