Working in Times of Uncertainty : A Comparative Qualitative Case Study of Internal Crisis Communication in Swedish Healthcare during COVID-19

This study examines how internal crisis communication functioned at a hospital in southern Sweden during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous research indicates that internal crisis communication is an under-researched area. Research also shows that insufficient internal crisis communication can lead to mental health issues among healthcare staff and decrease trust in management, affecting both the work environment and patient safety. The aim of the study is to highlight employees´ experiences of internal crisis communication and how it was conveyed by managers and senior leadership. The research questions seek to provide an understanding of how internal crisis communication affected employees, as well as what shortcomings and challenges existed. The study is based on a comparative qualitative case study in which two departments at the same hospital were examined. The primary empirical material consisted of semi-structured interviews, supplemented by text documents used as complement to the interviews. The interview participants consisted of eight employees, two of whom were department managers from the respective departments. The results show that internal crisis communication was experienced differently across the departments. Communication in Department 1 indicated a greater emphasis on communication as sharing, whereas communication in Department 2 indicated a greater emphasis on communication as transmission. The results further show that the objectives of internal crisis communication were largely fulfilled in Department 1, while they were only partially fulfilled in Department 2. A shared experience in both departments was that the constant flow of information constituted a challenge. The study concludes that internal crisis communication should not solely focus on information transmission but also needs to create conditions for dialogue, understanding, and collective sense-making. Particularly in crisis situations characterized by high uncertainty, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The study contributes to an increased understanding of internal crisis communication and its complexity.