Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review | DOI: 10.13060/csr.2025.015

Exploring the Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Risk Perception and Care Dynamics Among Staff in Residential Homes for Older Adults

Jaroslava Hasmanová Marhánková, Martina Jandová

This study aims to expand the understanding of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated measures on the functioning of long-term care facilities for older adults and the employees working in these institutions. The paper presents the findings of a case study conducted at a residential home for older adults in the Czech Republic, where 10 employees holding various positions were interviewed between March and June 2022. In relation to the specific context of the institution, we were also interested in the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the organisation of care, perceptions of how ‘good’ care should be delivered, and the construction of occupational risks. In this paper the institution of the care home is viewed as a space in which the diverse ‘social worlds’ of staff in different positions intersect. By tracing the ways in which staff talk about their experience of the pandemic, we can map not only the pandemic’s impact on the functioning of residential homes for older adults, which are a prime example of institutions that were on the ‘frontline’ during the pandemic, but also the different experiences of people working on this ‘frontline’. In the case of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, these dividing lines can be identified most clearly (1) in the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and related measures on the nature of the work staff performed (in terms of both the demands and content of the work), (2) in the different emphases placed on how to define and understand newly emerging needs, and (3) on staff’s perceptions of emerging risks and their capacity to cope with them. In both cases, the Covid-19 pandemic created different forms of vulnerability for employees of the same organisation pursuing common interests.

Keywords: Covid-19, frontline work, long-term care institutions, occupational risk, staff experiences

Received: February 16, 2024; Revised: May 6, 2025; Accepted: May 12, 2025; Prepublished online: June 16, 2025 

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