Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Daphne Halkias

Abstract

The exploitation of unpaid healthcare staff led to a volunteer flight from long-term residential facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. A literature gap existed on human resource policies to support volunteer eldercare workers who had remained at their posts and taken charge of work in long-term care facilities during the public health crisis. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry study was to explore how volunteers in eldercare facilities viewed their daily experiences and interpreted their role in eldercare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was framed by Garner and Garner’s theory of volunteer retention and Studer’s concept of volunteer management. Interview data were collected from nine volunteers working in eldercare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The critical event approach was the data analysis strategy, from which four conceptual categories emerged: (a) volunteer work in eldercare facilities during the pandemic, (b) the emotional toll on volunteers during the pandemic, (c) human resource managers supporting eldercare volunteers, and (d) volunteer voices on working in eldercare. The participants expressed hope that their voices would be heard to drive positive social change through human resource managers developing proper work conditions and organizational readiness for supporting volunteer staff during a public health crisis, improving the quality of life for older people in long-term care.

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