Strategic support: lessons learned from staff experiences in UK higher education during the pandemic

This study examines how institutional support was enacted, interpreted, and evaluated by academic and professional staff in United Kingdom (UK) higher education institutions (HEIs) during the COVID-19 lockdown period (March 2020–August 2021). While universities rapidly introduced wellbeing, mental health, and remote teaching initiatives, less is known about how these measures were experienced in practice and why formally available support did not translate uniformly into perceived support. Drawing on Social Support Theory (SST) as an interpretive framework, this study examines the relational and interpretive mechanisms through which institutional support becomes meaningful, or fails to do so, under crisis conditions. A qualitative-dominant online survey of 290 staff members combined categorical measures of support provision and awareness with open-ended accounts of lived experience. Descriptive analysis mapped patterns of reported provision and line manager engagement, while reflexive thematic analysis explored how staff interpreted and evaluated support initiatives. Findings indicate a consistent distinction between institutional provision and relational enactment. Although many institutions implemented formal support measures, their perceived value depended heavily on personalised leadership practices, including empathy, proactive communication, flexibility, and recognition. Generic or reactive initiatives were frequently interpreted as procedural compliance rather than meaningful care. Differential awareness and accessibility, particularly among part-time staff and employees with disabilities, further revealed how equality-based provision can obscure inequitable experiences of support. By applying SST to inductively generated themes, the study advances understanding of institutional support beyond resource availability, demonstrating that support effectiveness is mediated by relational signalling, contextual sensitivity, and interpretive alignment—that is, the perceived fit between institutional initiatives and staff experience under crisis conditions. The findings refine SST within organisational crisis contexts and highlight the importance of relationally enacted, equity-oriented approaches to support in higher education.