Date of Conferral

5-17-2024

Date of Award

May 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Human Services

Advisor

Shari Jorissen

Abstract

The United States Department of Human Services provided information about how to administer services remotely to human service organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, but multiple challenges arose including lack of support, ethical concerns, and difficulty in building a rapport with clients remotely. The problem that was addressed in this study was the negative impacts on clients due to the issues with human service professionals providing virtual services during the pandemic. This generic qualitative study aimed to explore perceptions about the support human service professionals received from their supervisors during the pandemic. Bandura’s self-efficacy theory was used to explore participant perceptions collected with semi-structured interviews. Data from 11 respondents were analyzed using inductive coding. Three main themes answered the research question: (a) some employees were not provided training for delivering services remotely; (b) the perceptions of supervisor performance during the pandemic did not seem to affect employee relationships with their supervisors; and (c) despite the change in ways that supervisors communicated with employees, some felt supervision did not change. The results highlighted the importance of proper employee training, positive relationships between supervisors and employees, and ongoing quality communication between supervisors and employees, especially during disruptive times such as the pandemic. Implications for positive social change include guidance for human service organizations and professionals to make services equitable and accessible to users to increase efficiency, convenience, and community reach.

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