Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

Hindu College, Delhi University

Naisha Yadav 1993
Gungun Gupta 1972
Dibyani Dash 2078

BCom (Hons.)

Date: 21/11/2022
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

INTRODUCTION

The advent of COVID -19 had a massive impact on various sectors of the economy be it
education , health , business or service sector. One of the prime areas included therein is the
HRM practices in the companies . While some companies laid off their employees because of
huge burden on their expenses while some chose to cut the perquisites and other bonuses which
would further make it difficult for the company tol function.

Further it has impacted the organizations in proportions where they have to change the
dimensions of working and moreover change the employee ratio of each department in such a
way that would be most efficient for the working of the organization.

Keeping all such practices in mind it has become necessary for the employers to devise a
program in such a way that would be mentally adaptable to all the employees of the firm .

As per the research conducted by us a major proportion of the population has experienced a
major shift in the working practices post pandemic. Also so as to accommodate the needs of the
population the firms have shifted to a hybrid form of work structure . Working from home for
months and then when the situation was getting back to normalcy employees have experienced it
bit difficult to shift to the original paradigm keeping in mind the constraints during the post
pandemic period. While few organizations laid off employees some tried to reduce the
perquisites. Majority of the organizations have focused more on creating a work life balance
where people would work in a hybrid mode slightly turning towards accepting the offline work
culture.
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This section would focus mainly on the impact that the pandemic had on the various HRM
practices through various pre-written articles and references and their point of view about the
same. It would basically put across all the past information from articles.

As per Khudhair et al. (2020) - Among the various new forms of operating organisation , most
of the organisations haven't worked out yet the best way to work in this particular way so as to
increase the productivity. Studies reveal that to increase the commitment and maintain good
working relationship between the employees and organization requires implementing strategic
policies which becomes difficult for a company to cope up with during the harsh COVID times.

As per McKibbin and Fernando (2020) - What the employees wish for in a company is to
institute binding relationships with the company and maintain cordial relationships with other
fellow workers . As a consequence of the emergence of the deadly pandemic the physical
interactions between the employees are bound to reduce and which would definitely have an
impact on their mental well being , which would in greater terms reduce the overall productivity .

As per Vintage circle - The biggest HR challenge that they would face is that employees would
keep their mental health over anything else and hence they would diverge from all the things that
would harass them mentally which could be sitting at one place for a longer period of time . It
would lead to a situation where focus would be less on career building but on their own personal
growth.
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

CASE STUDIES

PwC

PwC is a company whose purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. They
are connected in over 152 countries with over 328,000 people who are engaged in providing
consultancy and taxation services. In an agreement with the stakeholders and employees of the
organization they tried to devise a post covid strategy which would be beneficial for employees
as well as for the company as whole. PwC devised an after action review plan wherein they tried
to figure out how they performed during the period of pandemic .
To make the employees feel comfortable PwC has devised a strategy post the Covid period
which includes a Friday lunchtime finish during the months of summer and they don’t initially
intend to overburden the people and expect that they would join the office two to three days per
week.
One of the other major changes that the firm embarked upon was getting out the most beneficial ,
effective yet comfortable way for the employees. It focused on a day called ‘Empowered Day’.
It would mean that as per the wish of the employee they would work according to their own will,
that is they can start earlier and finish earlier as per their wish .
One of the social impacts that the firm wishes to accomplish is that if the employees work for a
few days and not all the days of week in offline mode then the carbon emissions would reduce as
workplace facilities would be used less than before.
The said firm has always focused on the three key elements which are the three W’s that is
workforce , wellness and workplace which in a larger picture contributes to the overall
experience of the employees of the organization .
As we have known that Covid -19 has made organizations fall in such a situation that to bring
back things to the way they were, that is bring the situation back to normalcy all the firms had to
put their own set of efforts to restructure the human resource practices . This remained one of the
major barriers that the company needed to surpass in order to be effective in its working.
Another point which the firm has emphasized is ways to deal with the mindsets of the employees
, which is the emotional mindset of the employees . This was done in order so that the staff will
remain motivated and without any hesitation will be able to resume the work practices.
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

To achieve this it was important on the part of the firm to eliminate the fear and panic from the
employees which was considered way important so that efficiency can be achieved in the
organization.

Google

Google’s first priority has always been to safeguard the health and safety of their Googler
community. The management took action to reduce the need for people to come into offices,
either recommending or mandating the workforce to work from home depending on the local
situation.

As Googlers work from home, the importance of keeping them connected was recognised across
the organization. During their usual office operations, employees can sign up for Google-to-
Google (g2g) classes where Googlers teach fellow colleagues a skill or knowledge about a topic
they are passionate about. In pandemic times even more of that started happening online with
Googlers conducting virtual baking classes, mindfulness sessions, fitness boot camps (and) craft
making lessons. Embracing a culture of learning, both offline and online, has created an
environment that encourages our employees to stay connected and have the openness to share
knowledge with one another.

Google also initiated a ‘Virtual Coffee Ninja’ programme for Googlers to set up coffee chats via
Hangouts to build connections with someone new in the company.Google formed a mental
health awareness group Blue Dot, made up of employee volunteers to support various employees
of the company.

Google recognized that for many employees who are not used to the concept of remote working
for an extended period of time, this shift in work culture can be a difficult transition. So all the
managers at Google were encouraged to check on their subordinates and peers and their families
for any support they may need instead of just keeping a note of professional things. This
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

highlights the importance of human connection and need for understanding of feelings and
emotions of employees in the workplace, and management being considerate to it.

Moreover,the need to have productivity strategies when working from home,was released by the
management at Google since there isn’t an ordinary structure of a day at the office. At Google,
they started an internal portal offering tips for different remote situations such as collaborating
with teams, virtual team effectiveness, wellbeing and resilience, coding from home and
conducting effective virtual meetings to help their employees find their new work routine.
Further the management at google realized that this experience will undoubtedly push them to
rethink their policies and systems to ensure it provides a higher level of support to their
employees such as mental health and well-being.

McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corporation operates in roughly 120 countries around the world. It’s a global
restaurant chain founded in 1955 and has extensive experience in adjusting to changing business
conditions. Although it had a potential pandemic risk preparation program in its policies, but the
pandemic COVID-19 was an altogether different ball game that impacted each and every
company and community in the world. In order to survive the pandemic McDonald’s
strategically banked on its level of risk preparedness, experience in managing health and safety
concerns, and supply chain planning. The entire management at McDonald’s pushed themselves
to think outside the box about several things including menu, operating procedures, and how to
serve their customers and employees (in both restaurants and corporate offices) in new and
different ways that prioritized their safety.

As part of its response to the pandemic, McDonald’s developed an agile model and team
structure that supported integrated decision making. A COVID-19 leadership team led the
charge, reporting to McDonald’s U.S. senior leadership, which initially met three times daily to
address quickly changing information and evolving recommendations. Subgroups, focused on a
specific area of the business, brought their own solutions—for example, a team focused on
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

enhancing more than 50 processes in U.S. restaurants as part of the swiftest operational
transformation in the company’s history; another team focused solely on engaging with third
party experts to provide ongoing counsel and expertise on emerging science in infection
prevention and control and share best practices to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Thus, this
flexible structure of management provided it the flexibility to mold themselves according to the
day-to-day situation, and keep up with the recent developments of the situation.

Even prior to the pandemic, employee wellbeing was of significance but it became all the more
important during the crisis and post pandemic. McDonald’s in order to support its human
resources, formed sub teams that focussed primarily on employee health and at later stages were
dedicated on employee health and wellbeing at the time of office reopening.

McDonald’s empowered their functional leaders to make necessary decisions to help protect
people and business, but also wanted to provide consistency in their approach to the pandemic to
ensure they emerged stronger than ever from this crisis – having common principles and
learnings for the future. Integrated decision making was at the heart of driving safety focused
procedures for McDonald’s crew and corporate employees. As a result, the employees felt very
safe when they walked into the office.

The pandemic also forced McDonald’s to re-examine its thinking about the corporate workforce
post Covid-19, just like several organizations around the globe. The flexibility the company had
already put in place before COVID-19 struck laid a strong foundation for changing working
conditions and best supporting employees.

The flexibility and working models they had before the pandemic really set them up well to
adapt to workforce changes. Like McDonald’s already had a system to support our people’s
personal needs during the workday. They worked on similar lines and made it more elaborate
during the pandemic.

Supportive managers are an asset to any firm. McDonald’s extremely efficient and supportive
management that had a special emphasis on health and wellness was the key that helped the
organization and its employees to sail through the pandemic. In order for them to be better
prepared to handle diverse situations that may arise because of the pandemic, all the managers
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

were given training, tools to understand how different employees would be affected and make
sure they’re adjusting accordingly.

On one hand, restaurants have been struggling to cope with the changing dynamics and
consumer behaviors around the health crisis, forcing them to simplify menus and shift largely to
online and mobile orders for pickup, delivery and drive-thru. McDonald’s strong drive-thru
presence and the investments they had made in delivery and digital over the past few years
served them well through these uncertain times. It also followed all the guidelines to the T, to
help drive its recovery, McDonald's offered face coverings that were mandatory at its stores to
anyone entering without a mask. As per the available data about 96% of its restaurants in the US
were operating with drive-thru, delivery or reduced seating capacity.

While many organizations were laying off the employees, McDonalds expanded its ranks, hiring
roughly 260,000 restaurant employees in the U.S. It also invested significant resources in worker
wellbeing. McDonald’s also entered into strategic partnerships with Mayo Clinic, in July 2020,
which provided ongoing cleanliness and safety insights to the brand as the medical community’s
understanding of the virus developed over time. Professionals from the Mayo Clinic and the
McDonald’s executive team regularly met to review McDonald’s health and safety policies and
procedures in light of further changes in the medical community’s understanding of the situation.

Additionally, McDonald’s altered its leave policies to support its employees during such difficult
times and offered employees paid sick leave if they were impacted by COVID-19, as well as
access to a 24/7 Blue Cross Blue Shield nurse line and emotional support counseling sessions for
employees and their families. The company also continued to offer flexible work schedules in
order to help employees balance new priorities amid the pandemic. This was highly appreciated
by the employees of the organization. Also McDonald’s response wasn’t just limited to the
physical safety of employees, it increased its financial support. While many of the brand’s
franchisees chose to provide enhanced compensation packages for frontline employees, which
included such efforts as “appreciation pay,” raises and bonuses, free meals, gift cards, and other
financial resources for employees and their families, McDonald’s USA offered bonuses to every
employee at corporate-owned stores and doubled incentive bonuses for qualifying managers in
the first quarter of 2020.
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

McDonald’s realizes that its crew and managers are the heart and soul of the restaurants in which
they work, and their safety and well-being were the top priorities of the organization and that
guided all of their decision making. As soon as McDonald’s recognized in February that
COVID-19 was going to impact restaurants in the U.S., they implemented the swiftest and
largest operational transformation in their history with safety of crew and customers top of mind.
This included implementing more than 50 enhanced operations measures including increased
cleaning and sanitization, universal masking, installing protective barriers, implementing
contactless operations and daily temperature and wellness checks, and adhering to social
distancing for customers and crew. Moreover, all these changes in its way of working and
Human resource policies were not stopped post the pandemic but are being carried forward and
McDonald’s is paying increased attention on its employees emotional, mental and physical well
being.
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

SURVEY ON CHANGE IN HR POLICIES AFTER COVID-19

Emails:
Names:
Age:

1. Gender
● Male
● Female
● Other

2. What do you do by profession?

● Entrepreneur
● Professional
● Salaried Employee
● Other

3. Are you currently working in any organisation?

● Yes
● No

4. Do you know about the changes that are taking place in your company after covid 19?
Especially related to the Human Resource Department?
● Yes
● No
● A little

5. Has your organisation shifted to hybrid mode of working post pandemic?

Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

● Yes
● No
● Maybe

6. Covid forced us to work from home but we got a habit of it as it stayed for
more than a year.
So, Has the transition from work from home back to the office been smooth?
● Yes, it was good
● No, it was difficult
● It was manageable

7. Were employees laid off in your company?

● Yes
● No
● Maybe
● Don't know

8. Post the pandemic there has been a trend where many companies are
advocating for better work life balance.
Has it been the same at your organisation?
● Yes
● No
● To some extent

9. Has your organisation been more supportive regarding health both mental as
well as physical post the pandemic?
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

● Very supportive
● Not supportive
● Are supportive but only to some extent

10.Are you in support of all the HR policies that have changed? Or do you
prefer older ones?
● The New Policies are better
● I prefer older ones
● I am fine with both
● I don't like either one

SURVEY ANALYSIS REPORT

Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

The main purpose of this survey was to find how many people have faced the situation of change
in the HR policies after covid-19 and what are their views on the same. This survey also covers
the different types of occupations and their opinions about the same.

Since our topic is Change in HR policies after covid-19. We conducted a survey to know if
people know how people are feeling about the same.

● Other than basic questions such as Name, Age and Gender. We asked what occupations
they work for?

From the following pie chart, we can conclude that most of our population which filled
the survey is either a salaried employee or working in any other sector. Only a few people
were entrepreneurs or professionals.

● Now the next question which was very important and was the main reason to conduct it
was, If they know about our topic or not.
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

This chart explains that more than half of the selected population already had the
knowledge about our topic, about 20% of the population wasn't aware about it and some
have only little knowledge.

● As mentioned in the introduction, after the pandemic many organisation shifted to

completely offline, in office working however some remained hybrid so as to cause less
problems for the employees who are already trying to cope up with sudden change from
online to offline.
To see how many people are working in hybrid mode. We asked this question.

As we can see from the chart, more than half of the population answered Yes and about
one third of the population said No.

● Moon lightning is a new topic we recently heard about, but along with that many
organisations laid off employees so as to cut down their expenses. The question we asked
was if people have faced or seen lay offs in their workplaces or not.

From this we can see that only approximately 32% of people agreed that there were
layoffs. Most of them said no and some weren't sure.
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

● The next two questions can be answered consecutively as both of them relate to
employees well being.

Here we can observe that although companies are supportive about work life balance and
mental & physical health, they are helping it to only some extent in 50% cases. Around
15% say that their organisations are not supportive and others are happy with their work
culture.

● Now the final question is important for this report. The question was are people happy
with new policies or not.

The chart clearly shows that half of the people don't have any problem with either of
them. But around 35% of people prefer new ones. So it is safe to say that around 85%
people have no problem with new hr policies so formed.
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

CONCLUSION

So, concluding this research paper. This research paper mainly focuses on the HR policies that
have changed after the globe was hit with the pandemic named Covid-19. As we all know that
many people lost their jobs as companies tried to cut down labor to reduce the expense. We read
in the beginning of this paper that many companies have changed their policies either in a good
way or a bad one.
Through various case studies we established that the companies have been supportive about the
transition from online to offline and they have offered many incentives for their employees.
Some companies are still working in hybrid mode so that their employees can work out their
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

family as well as work life. We also conducted a survey. Although our sample was small, we got
surprising results out of it. We incorporated questions which seem to align with our topic and
could be easily understood by people. Our target audience was basically the people who are
currently working. Our analysis, if seen as a bigger picture, will depict that although companies
did changed their working styles to aid people, people are not completely satisfied with the new
HR policies but still they prefer newer ones as compared to the ones used before covid.
Now, it's time to conclude this research paper. The research paper in itself was a great learning
experience for us. We worked on all aspects we could find to make this paper a success.
The idea behind taking this topic was to discuss the lasting effect of the pandemic that hit the
world and to see how it became a topic of concern at the workplace since the organisations have
to deal with the people who being humans need understanding on part of their employers to be
treated as humans and not as machines.
Concluding this research paper, We can come up with information that HR policies although not
great at all times, have impacted the human resource to the full.
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies

References

McKibbin , W.J. & Fernando , R (2020) .The Global Macroeconomic impacts of COVID -19 :

Seven Scenarios. SSRN Electronic Journal

https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3547729

Khudhair , H. Y. et al.(2020) . The Impact of COVID -19 on Supply Chain and Human Resource
Management Practices and Future Marketing . International journal Of supply and chain
management 9(5), 1681-1685
https://doi.org/10.5296/ijim.v6i1.17994

PwC (2020) : how the new normal is shaping the future of HR

https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/publications/how-the-new-normal-shaping-future-hr.html

Google (2021) : Google on navigating Covid 19 and the future of work

Google on navigating COVID-19 and the future of work

McDonald’s (2021) : How McDonald’s supported employees during the Covid-19 crisis
https://theonebrief.com/case-study-mcdonalds-responds-to-the-covid-19-crisis-nb/
Impact of Covid 19 on Human Resource Management Policies