Navigating Pandemic Moral Distress at Home and at Work: Frontline Workers' Experiences.

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Occupational Health
• Ethics

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic imposed significant challenges on frontline workers, particularly concerning family and work responsibilities.
• Frontline workers navigated difficult decisions to minimize COVID-19 exposure to their families while fulfilling employment and childcare duties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To understand the decision-making processes of frontline workers regarding COVID-19 exposure and family care.
• To explore the impact of these decisions on the experiences of frontline workers.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 61 semi-structured interviews with frontline workers who had children at home between October 2020 and May 2021.
• Interviews were conducted in English or Spanish, recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using abductive methods.

Main Results:

• Frontline workers experienced moral distress stemming from conflicts between their roles as workers and parents.
• Moral distress arose from COVID-19 work exposures jeopardizing family health, work hours conflicting with childcare needs, and a sense of duty to continue working.
• Workers felt compelled to compromise on either work or family responsibilities due to these tensions.

Conclusions:

• The concept of moral distress should be expanded to include non-healthcare frontline workers and the impact of decisions made outside of work.
• Expanding moral distress acknowledges disparities in frontline work and supports interventions like paid childcare to mitigate distress.
• Findings suggest a need for systemic changes to support frontline workers facing ethical dilemmas in balancing professional duties and family well-being.