"The Yo-Yo Effect": U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Social Workers' Experiences with Job Flexibility during the Pandemic

Derrick Kranke; Debbie Gioia; Nikola Alenkin; Yvonne Mudoh; Emily Solorzano; Aram Dobalian

doi:10.1093/sw/swad013

"The Yo-Yo Effect": U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Social Workers' Experiences with Job Flexibility during the Pandemic

Soc Work. 2023 Jun 15;68(3):230-239. doi: 10.1093/sw/swad013.

Authors

Derrick Kranke¹, Debbie Gioia², Nikola Alenkin³, Yvonne Mudoh⁴, Emily Solorzano⁵, Aram Dobalian⁶

Affiliations

¹ Derrick Kranke, PhD, is health science specialist, Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center (VEMEC), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), 16111 Plummer Street, MS-152, North Hills, CA 91343, USA.
² Debbie Gioia, PhD, is associate professor, School of Social Work, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA.
³ Nikola Alenkin, PhD, is a supervisory social worker, VA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁴ Yvonne Mudoh, MPH, is project manager, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁵ Emily Solorzano, MA, is project manager, VEMEC, VA, North Hills, CA, USA.
⁶ Aram Dobalian, PhD, is director, VEMEC, VA, North Hills, CA, USA, and professor and division chair, Health Services Management and Policy, College of Public Health, the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.

PMID: 37186154
DOI: 10.1093/sw/swad013

Abstract

Social work turnover from the emotional overload of providing care during the pandemic has created staff shortages and exposed many gaps in service delivery. Those social workers who sustained employment during this pandemic are asked to take on flexible/additional roles to fill in those gaps in services to their most vulnerable clients. This qualitative study (N = 12) of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) inpatient social workers at two sites across the country assesses their experiences of taking on additional roles at their respective VA facility. Three research questions were addressed to the participants: (1) Describe your roles and responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic? (2) How did those responsibilities change/evolve over time? and (3) Did you receive training for your new roles or tasks? Thematic analysis revealed six themes that would facilitate effectiveness and continuity of care: (1) recognizing insufficient training to handle a pandemic, (2) meeting the demand for care, (3) responding to unexpected aspects of flexibility, (4) adjusting to new roles over time, (5) adaptation and support, and (6) additional resources to simplify efforts. With COVID rates stabilizing across much of the United States, now is the time to implement trainings and education about job flexibility in the future instance of a pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; flexibility; practice guidelines; roles.

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Health Personnel / psychology
Humans
Pandemics
Social Work
Social Workers
United States / epidemiology
Veterans* / psychology