Journal Article

Guest editorial: The changing role of HRM through crisis: from response to recovery

Aitken-Fox, Eileen, Coffey, Jane, Tian, Amy Wei, Dayaram, Kantha, Fitzgerald, Scott, McKenna, Stephen

2023

Overview

The role of HRM in crisis management has begun to gain interest in the literature; yet, research in this field has largely adopted an internal perspective focusing on how HRM helps to manage risk and complexity during the crisis response stage (Bundy et al., 2017). Research on crisis similar to COVID-19 pandemic represents the “most overlooked area of investigation” (Ererdi et al., 2020, p. 25), with only three studies examined crises similar to COVID-19: those that has affected both organizations and their employees by threatening the basic social structure around places of work (e.g., Merlot and De Cieri, 2012; tsunami; Opdyke et al., 2017, typhoons). The paper also reinforces the need for ensuring that the way in which work is designed allows for, and encourages, innovative behavior, a sense of control over how work is performed and, provides a psychologically safe work environment. Not only does the paper reinforce the need for a realistic job preview to be provided to employees when required to shift to working from home, but also includes a number of suggestions for interventions to be employed to assist employees in navigating such a change in work design.

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited,Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subject: Collaboration / Coronaviruses / COVID-19 / Employees / Furloughs / Human resource management / Job design / Leadership / Management of crises / Mental health / Neurodiversity / Pandemics / Volunteers / Work at home / Work environment