print«Heroes are not Only those Who Worked on the Frontline»:
Management the Sense of Inequality by Non-Frontline Nurses During and after COVID‑19 Pandemic
Baisha N.S.
PhD student, Research Assistant, HSE University, Moscow, Russia nsbaysha@hse.ru
T he a rticle was p repared w ithin t he f ramework o f t he B asic Research Program at HSE University.
Baisha N.S. «Heroes are not Only those Who Worked on the Frontline»: Management the Sense of Inequality by Non-Frontline Nurses During and after COVID‑19 Pandemic. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2025. No 10. P. 117-130
The emotional labor of frontline nurses and non-frontline nurses during the COVID‑19 pandemic is associated with stress, emotional exhaustion and uneven distribution of material and social support. In Russia, the labor of non-frontline nurses, which was also carried out in unsafe conditions – high risks of COVID‑19, is on the periphery of academic discussions. The author of the article raises the question of how non-frontline nurses manage their emotion, in particular, a sense of inequality. The article focuses on the analysis of the causes of emotions and the practices of its (non)expression in the non-covid hospitals. The empirical base of the study consisted of 28 interviews with Volgograd nonfrontline nurses. As a result of the data analysis, the author identifies the grounds for (not)expressing a sense of inequality and concludes that the sense of inequality is modified into a sense of responsibility towards patients without coronavirus. Emotional involvement in patient care helps non-frontline nurses overcome sense of inequality and internal resistance to unfair working conditions both during and after the pandemic. The article contributes to an understanding of the emotional working conditions of nonfrontline nurses, helps to identify the reasons why they do not go to the covid-hospitals, as well as their practices of managing sense of inequality.
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