How do workers cope in no-win situations? Midwives found out the hard way during the pandemic
- Written by James Greenslade-Yeats, Research Fellow in Management, Auckland University of Technology

During the pandemic, midwives faced what researchers call a “pragmatic paradox” – a situation where contradictory demands are imposed on individuals who can neither refuse nor fulfil the demands.
Midwives needed to care for women and babies despite the risk of infecting them with the virus. Their...