The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on the Future of Human Resource Management

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic presented huge challenges to all aspects of life including social, economic, public health, governmental and business activities. Following a year of mandatory closures and quarantine, there is new hope in the fight against the virus as vaccines and new safety precautions have been implemented globally, but the crisis is not over. Many lessons are still being learned about the crisis which points to a need for human resource managers to revisit lessons learned from past emergencies and disasters in addition to organizational responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, existing human resource management plans and policies, occupational safety and health procedures; and continuity plans will need to be revisited to ensure continuity from of operations in future emergency events. This article discusses the business impacts of COVID-19 from a practitioner point of view. The author examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on organizations from a multidisciplinary approach that considers the physical workplace, telecommuting and hybrid business options. This article opens with a discussion on the history of Human Resource Management and continues with a discussion on how enabling technologies, continuity programs and employee health/safety and wellness have shaped human resource management practices. The article concludes with practitioner recommendations for minimizing disruption to the organization’s essential functions by unlinking the organization’s dependence on physical structures, as appropriate. The author challenges human resource managers to challenge current assumptions on how work is to be performed and move toward a model of great flexibility in where and how work should be performed.