Taking Care at Work: Gender, Coping, and Anti-Violence Work During COVID-19

Abstract

COVID-19 transformed frontline anti-violence workers’ organizational routines by transitioning to virtual formats, decreasing face-to-face interactions, and shifting client needs. To address ever-changing workplace stressors, service providers adapted and/or modified coping mechanisms. In this paper, we analyze interviews with 23 anti-violence workers in the US Great Plains region, focusing on tactics used to avoid burnout and meet client needs. We discuss how workplace pace, direct-action coping practices, and a lack of inter/intra-agency social support impact how workers do their necessary jobs. Though some challenges were pervasive pre-pandemic, anti-violence workers’ experiences also highlight how “post-COVID-19” workplaces must adequately support staffers.