Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provide services to a country's most vulnerable populations. In response to the COVID-19, NGOs were tasked to provide service to the over 500,000 marginalized people residing in urban/rural low-socio-economic communities in Jamaica. Recognizing that the pandemic is different from anything most NGOs faced since their establishment, and it was an existential challenge for organizational operations. Leadership emerged as a critical component to the success of NGOs delivering services to the needy. Using qualitative exploratory technique, the study explored NGO nurturing of employees/middle managers and non-positional individuals' entry into leadership during a crisis. The researcher solicited the perspectives of organizations' directors. Findings show that NGOs encountered several challenges which hampered their ability to provide services to marginalized communities. Only some leaders spotted and nurtured employee leadership agency. Recommended guidelines and principles for activating middle executive agency to lead during a crisis are given.
TopIntroduction
The ongoing global pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), triggered restrictive international measures to contain the spread of the virus. In the country of Jamaica, the first COVID-19 case was recorded in March 2020, after which the government instituted restrictive measures via the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA). These measures included school closures, social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and closure of the state borders, which impacted the continuation of education and the economic sector–particularly informal workers (Alleyne et al., 2020). Economic inequalities were highlighted by the crisis and this often disproportionately impacted individuals from marginalized backgrounds and communities (Kantamneni, 2020). The pandemic and the associated national restrictions showcased a myriad of inequalities within the labour market, access to work, and education. It also highlighted experiences of vulnerability, increased poverty, and lack of access to basic necessities in many vulnerable communities and populations (World Bank, 2020).
Globally, 3.3 billion of the world's workforce were at risk of losing their livelihoods. Informal workers were even more vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19, considering that most lacked social protection and lost access to productive resources (WHO, 2020). In countries in the Caribbean specifically, an unintended consequence of the restrictive measures – especially the closure of business- was the unemployment of millions of workers (Mera, 2020). Notably, the unemployment rate was concentrated among the population of country who transacted in the informal economy (London, 2021). Of significance the pandemic disproportionately impacted the lower socio-economic strata in Jamaica and affected over 150 marginalized communities. As a result, many families lost their income and means to provide during the pandemic. Like the rest of the world, Jamaica and its citizenry continue to experience the debilitating impact of COVID-19.
In its efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the government of Jamaica imposed strict social distancing regulations and curfews which hindered the ability of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to conduct their daily operations with their clients face-to-face. Restrictions included nation-wide lockdowns, curfews and the prohibition of group gatherings in public spaces. The unprecedented scale and pace of the changes brought on by the pandemic coupled with the restrictive national measures such as no movement days/lockdowns gave rise to the need for emergency response and assistance to the island’s most vulnerable. The majority of these persons with special needs were unemployed and resided in war-torn rural and urban inner-city communities. Supplemental to State-led initiatives, public sector stakeholders such as NGOs and community-based organizations (CBOs) were called upon to serve the nation’s most vulnerable and marginalized.
In the case of natural disasters in the past, NGOs have not been a frontline responder. As such their operations during the Covid-19 pandemic was a new frontier. Consequently, a need to reflect and examine the actors in such an unprecedented time became important. Therefore, this study sought to explore the major issues that impacted NGOs conducting their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the study examined how NGOs have nurtured employees’ agency to lead and manage during times of crisis.