Challenges of HR Professionals in COVID-19 Pandemic


Figure 1: Source : (Rice, 2021)

Introduction

HR managers and leaders have become one of the loudest and most significant voices in the coronavirus Zoom room. COVID-19 has certainly presented issues to HR practitioners. The economy is struggling, employees are stressed, and HR experts are doing their best to keep everything in perspective (Jouany, 2020).

The dramatic cultural shift has presented new HR issues Such as

Mental Health and Wellbeing

The abrupt culture change harmed employee health and satisfaction. Stress, anxiety, and other mental health concerns have always existed. To help employees overcome health concerns, organizations have traditionally established wellness programs and given security, health benefits, and flexibility. The unanticipated COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the employees' mental health difficulties. The office environment allows you to understand your colleagues' pulse and sensitivity, which helps you cope with issues. Due to the increased number of employees working from home, managers are oblivious or at least unconcerned. According to a recent COVID-19 pulse study, employee health and well-being is a top concern.

Managing Remote Work

The change to remote work isn't as easy as it seems. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, just half of all businesses offered remote employment. Regulated industry and many financial services firms discourage remote working. Remote employment is becoming increasingly popular. This has led to a plethora of new difficulties. HR managers are trying to address the obstacles by creating seamless channels and strategies. Strategies are no longer planned in advance, but rather created in real time. The focus has changed from employee productivity to quick reactions and diagnosis. To offer staff with the appropriate tools and to periodically solicit real-time updates in order to decipher complexity and provide support.

Conclusion

The company's ultimate purpose is for employees to be productive. It's challenging to keep remote staff interested, especially during a crisis. Internal communication is impeded, making consensus difficult. When working from home, it's tough to maintain a schedule or even a structured approach. You have minimal influence over cross-functional teams. Not updating them often or failing to plan meetings/ sessions can negatively affect their morale.

 

References

 

(Rice, 2021)

Bratton, J. & Gold, J., 2017. Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. London: Palgrave.

Jouany, , 2020. Ways to Improve Employee Experience During COVID-19. [Online] Available at: https://blog.smarp.com/17-ways-to-boost-employee-experience [Accessed 28 April 2021].

Rice, D., 2021. HR Exchange. [Online] Available at: https://www.hrexchangenetwork.com/hr-talent-management/articles/the-6-biggest-challenges-hr-faces-in-a-post-covid-world [Accessed 5 December 2021].

Zhou, Y., Thogerson, J., Ruan, Y. & Huang, G., 2013. The moderating role of human values in planned behaviour: the case of chinese consumers' intention to buy organic food. Journal of Consumer marketing, 30(4), pp.335-44.

 

Comments

  1. Sanjaya BandaranayakeDecember 17, 2021 at 9:12 AM

    Timely topic. Most challenging period for human resources professionals as they have to closely monitor employees health and manage their stress due to various issues and support employees work life balance.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chularathna2021MBADecember 17, 2021 at 6:26 PM

    Organisations have traditionally implemented wellness programs and provided security, health benefits, and flexibility to employees in order to assist them in overcoming their health concerns. However, the unexpected COVID-19 epidemic has brought the employees' mental health issues to the forefront. You have attempted to present a timely issue thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Imashi DayaratnaDecember 17, 2021 at 7:13 PM

    The main challenge of HRM practitioners, in this case, is to support managers and employees during this process and to offer proper information. However, it might not be easy in the context of uncertainty. Actually, all over the world, no one knows when this pandemic will end and if its consequences on organizations will be temporary or permanent (Bartik et al., Reference Bartik, Cullen, Glaeser, Luca and Stanton2020).

    ReplyDelete
  4. amila MBA HR blogsDecember 18, 2021 at 1:47 AM

    it is really challenge for all of us managing and surviving this kind of uncertain situation, nice topic for all of us

    ReplyDelete
  5. PrabathDecember 18, 2021 at 2:35 AM

    Because of covid pandemic HR face lot of problems and done great job for companies to keep continue business , Good article ,

    ReplyDelete
  6. Supun ChathurangaDecember 18, 2021 at 5:07 AM

    Good one ..Every business and employment role is bound face difficult in this pandemic situation..

    ReplyDelete
  7. HRM - Esoft -Nadeeka # 23December 18, 2021 at 6:59 AM

    Great Topic addressed this pandemic situation....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fahim MBA- Batch-23- 2021December 18, 2021 at 5:08 PM

    Challenging word covid-19 pandemic stress the world organization are not exceptional people never imagine about the remote working methods now lot of organization realize the effectiveness nice Topic

    ReplyDelete
  9. Damitha WeerasingheDecember 19, 2021 at 7:07 AM

    It's a real challenge to HR people especially for HR managers to ensure employee engagement. Really good article with valuable points. thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

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