The emergence and spread of COVID- 19 pandemic impacted human resource management and working practices differently, for example, remote working has now become a norm, and other working methods have become flexible (Butterick & Charlwood, 2021). During the pandemic, workers could enhance and secure paid sick leave, safety measures, and work share arrangements that saved their jobs and additional premium payments. The crisis impacted some benefits for the workers. The research paper will discuss the impact of Coronavirus on human resource management.
According to the latest data, pandemic-based benefits were built as some industries worked tirelessly to retain workers. For instance, in Australia, many public administration, healthcare, and social assistance employees reported a negative pandemic impact. It is because they could work remotely, and their respective employers decided to retain them as they worked from the comfort of their homes instead of laying them off (Schultz, 2021). Nevertheless, since the pandemic, most industries have frozen hiring, while others still have hired during the pandemic.
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the actuality of the failure of U.S labor laws to protect the working people. Nevertheless, workers’ rights advocates and union leaders urged the policymakers to mend and reform the broken systems. They warned against the erosion of unions which would contribute to a threatened democracy and increased economic inequalities. Despite all the efforts, the United States was caught by the pandemic with a frail labor protection system with extreme economic inequalities (Butterick & Charlwood, 2021). It contributed to low-wage workers, especially workers and women of color, significantly bearing the pandemic’s cost.
Most workers had to work without safety gear; they were fired when they spoke up about safety and health concerns and were denied access to paid sick leave. There was a need for reforms in the U.S. labor system. Unified voices in the workplace enable workers to cooperate, and through unions, they can secure paid sick time, enhanced safety measures, and additional premium payments. Workers represented by unions have a voice to negotiate terms for work-share measures to save their jobs and how their employers navigate the pandemic. Unionized workers have an advantage over nonunionized workers (Schultz, 2021). Unionized workers were able to set the standards for their salaries and benefits that would help all the workers. Workers’ health, safety, and lives depend on their ability to voice their workplace concerns.
It is crucial to examine the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and the working people. The coronavirus outbreak declined the employment rate in March due to the fear of the spread of the disease and the measures of social distances. Most of the unnecessary parts of the economy were shut down by the social-distancing measures put in place by the government of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic impact was felt, and it is still felt broadly but not equally because individuals with low wages experience a more incredible job loss (Butterick & Charlwood, 2021). It is because most low wages jobs were in the sectors that were hit more as they involved more social contact, like events, bars, and restaurants, among many others.
Furthermore, there was a lot of discrimination and occupational segregation caused by ethnic and racial differences in the labor market. Latinx, Asian American, and black communities experienced much more significant job loss due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, during this time, white non-Hispanic laborers experienced a 12.8% unemployment rate, Hispanic workers experienced an 18.5% unemployment rate, and the unemployment rate for black non-Hispanic workers was 16.7% (Gigauri, 2020). During this pandemic, women lost jobs more than men, specifically women of color.
The Trump administration failed to provide essential protection during the pandemic to workers, underscoring the importance of unions. With unions, workers could negotiate on health and safety measures, job preservation, and paid sick leaves in their workplaces. Workers with unions feel secure and can speak out about the dangers they are likely to face. Nonunionized workers worked without premium pay or were denied paid leave and protective equipment (Gigauri, 2020). Nevertheless, unionized workers advocated for increased wages and health and safety protections. The lack of protective health and safety measures led to many individuals getting infected with Coronavirus, and many lost their lives.
Many industries could not measure their employees’ performance management due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The outbreak also altered the performance of the employees in organizations. The modified working conditions made it difficult for an organization to measure employee performance. Thus it disrupted performance-based pay. Several factors related to Coronavirus influenced the employees, for instance, occupational stress, career and job control, and family distractions, most of the challenges emerged when the employees started working remotely (Schultz, 2021). Therefore, industries had to strengthen and maintain their performance management tools and processes. They communicated relevant information about the company’s direction to the employees and provided feedback. The information collected would help the organization retain the talents of the employees.
Additionally, COVID-19 affected many industries negatively, forcing them to close their shops temporarily. Nevertheless, other industries flourished due to the pandemic, such as delivery companies, as most people opted to buy their necessities through online platforms, and they were later delivered to their doorsteps (Schultz, 2021). Organizations facing financial challenges adopted skills to reduce incurring high costs and sustain their businesses. It is why most people found themselves jobless during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Moreover, workers within unions received better benefits that included healthcare and paid leave. During the pandemic, unionized employees were more likely to be covered by health insurance provided by their employers. Unionized employers added significantly to their employees’ healthcare benefits during the pandemic, paying 86% of workers’ health premiums. On the other hand, nonunionized employers pay 79% of their workers’ health premiums (Gigauri, 2020). Union workers have increased access to paid sick days. Almost all union workers in local and state governments have the privilege to pay sick leave compared to their nonunionized colleagues.
During the Coronavirus pandemic, the policymakers decided to prioritize reforms that would stimulate the collective power of the workers because the political response to the health and economic crisis brought about by COVID-19 had failed before. Nevertheless, the pandemic required intense interventions—the intensity and depth of the economic crisis brought by the pandemic necessitated additional legislative action. Here, an opportunity was provided to union leaders, social justice advocates, workers, and worker advocates chance to demand that policymakers put the needs of working people ahead of commercial interests (Gigauri, 2020). The policymakers were given duties to deliver reforms and interventions that were long overdue. The reforms and interventions fulfilled the promises made to United States workers approximately 100 years ago, i.e., collective bargaining and the right to a union. The crisis continued to reshape the workforce, democracy, and economy of the United States.
In conclusion, unions have been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that the workers have their collective voice, that health safety measures are upheld, and that they receive paid leave. It has dramatically increased the morale and motivated the employees, reflected in the increased output levels from different corporates.
References
Butterick, M., & Charlwood, A. (2021). HRM and the COVID‐19 pandemic: How can we stop making a bad situation worse? Human Resource Management Journal, 31(4), 847-856. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12344
Gigauri, I. (2020). Influence of COVID-19 crisis on human resource management and companies’ response: The expert study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, 6(6), 15-24. https://doi.org/10.18775/ijmsba.1849-5664-5419.2014.66.1002
Schultz, C. (2021). COVID-19 and future human resource management competencies. The Impact of COVID-19 on Human Resource Management. https://doi.org/10.51432/978-1-8381524-4-4_2
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