Managing Employees in a Crisis

The Covid19 pandemic has presented unique challenges for human resource professionals and business leaders alike. Such crises will usually cause unpredictability and fear among employees that could result in emotional disturbance, feelings of loss of control, and disorientation. Depending on the scale of the crisis, organizations may be forced to administer pay cuts, cancel bonus programs, adopt new modes of working such as teleworking, and freeze hiring (Aguinius & Burgi-Tian, 2021). For instance, at the height of the Covid19 pandemic in March 2020, 42 percent of companies in Canada and the United States (US) had frozen hiring (Aguinius & Burgi-Tian, 2021). In April 2020 alone, over 390,000 people in Europe and 7.7 million workers in the American hospitality industry lost their jobs (Aguinius & Burgi-Tian, 2021). Globally, 37 percent of companies in the US instituted bonus reductions, 42 percent administered salary freezes, and 29 percent administered pay cuts between March and May 2020 (Aguinius & Burgi-Tian, 2021). Such measures, though necessary for the companys survival, may lead to fragmented team cohesion, decline in morale, and reduced work performance (Zheng, 2020). This text expounds on the employee-management challenges that organizations may have to address in a crisis and the recommended strategies for addressing each challenge.

Challenges in Managing Employees in a Crisis

Unexpected Changes in Working Conditions

According to Hamouche (2021), employee management refers to the various efforts that an organization undertakes to ensure that employees do their best every day to help the organization realizes its objectives. During a crisis, one of the fundamental challenges that leaders face in achieving this is altered working conditions that lead to different functioning (Hamouche, 2021). In the wake of the Covid19 pandemic, for instance, organizations altered their working conditions to allow employees to work remotely. However, not all jobs can be carried out remotely. For instance, manufacturing jobs may require physical presence at the workplace. Thus, the human resource personnel have to determine which jobs are to be carried out remotely, what to do with those that require the employees to report physically to the workplace, and which employees to lay off because of the situation brought about by the crisis (Hamouche, 2021). All of these unexpected decisions and choices, as the author further indicates, pose huge challenges for managers and could have some serious implications on the mental health of employees.

For jobs that can be carried out remotely, the managers have to devise ways of investing in technological tools that could facilitate communication and help employees work effectively away from the office (Hamouche, 2021). They also need to consider possible realignments of compensation structures, as well as differences in performance management, and supervision support for employees working remotely. Altered working conditions could undermine employees psychological health as they could cause misfits between the person and the environment. According to Hamouche (2021), they could also cause job dissatisfaction as a result of from altered socialization processes.

Strategies for Addressing the Challenge

Available literature recommends that managers devise diverse activities to support their employees in the handling of the psychological challenges associated with altered work environments. For instance, they could create virtual socialization activities for employees forced to work remotely by organizing virtual coffee or lunch breaks for them to socialize with each other and share any challenges they may be facing. This would ensure that all employees feel like part of the organizational culture despite being away from the physical office (Hamouche, 2021). Such practices would help support employees affected by altered working environments even when they are separated from their colleagues.

Further, managers need to invest in systems that enhance constant communication with employees to create feelings of normalcy despite the changes (Nguyen, 2020). One way to do this is by ensuring that employees are provided with the right technological resources such as mobile devices to work as effectively in their new environments as in their normal work environments (Hamouche, 2021). Further, the organization needs to invest in technological tools that would ensure constant communication between managers and employees working away from the office (Hamouche, 2021). Such tools could include Microsoft Team, team viewer, Microsoft Remote desktop, and Zoom. However, the author cautions against overusing such systems to the extent that they make employees uncomfortable or drive perceptions that their manager does not trust them. Hamouche (2021) indicates that policies such as those requiring employees to put their microphones and cameras on throughout the day just to ensure constant communication may be detrimental to the employment relationship.

Unplanned Staffing Challenges

Staffing has to do with recruiting and retaining competent employees to help in the realization of organizational goals (Hamouche, 2021). Crisis situations have certain repercussions on staffing. Depending on the scale of the crisis, organizations will usually experience shrinking revenues and financial challenges that may force them to lay off employees, freeze hiring, or cut down on high-skill jobs as they seek to minimize costs (Hamouche, 2021). As part of cost-cutting, organizations may lay off contractual employees and opt for more flexible employment engagements such as freelancers...

…gear for employees who face a high risk of exposure such as medical personnel. They could also provide free face coverings within the office and an adequate number of hand-washing points to minimize employees risk of exposure as a way of retaining talent.

Conclusion

This text sought to identify the challenges that managers face in managing employees during a crisis and the measures that they could take to address the situation. The topic is crucial as it prepares managers for crisis situations and provides crucial insights on how to address the challenges to retain talent and minimize costs. The text categorizes the challenges that managers face into four areas: changes in working conditions, uncertainties around staffing, difficulty in carrying out performance management, and inadequate compensation systems.

In regard to altered working conditions, managers face the challenge of determining which jobs are to be carried out remotely, which ones require physical presence, and which jobs are to be laid off as a result of the crisis. The text recommends that managers devise diverseactivities to support their employees handle the psychological challenges associated with altered work environments, such as virtual socialization activities. Further, managers need to invest in systems that enhance constant communication with employees as a way of creating feelings of normalcy despite the changes in working environment. There is also the aspect of ensuring that employees working remotely do so effectively and that they are supported to handle the psychological effects of the changes. With regard to staffing, managers face the challenge of declining revenues that call for them to freeze hiring, make tough decisions on salary cuts, and administer bonus reductions, all of which increase the risk of dissatisfaction and high turnover. The text proposes that managers increase employees engagement and sense of belonging to minimize the effect of staffing-related uncertainties. They need to do this by listening to their employees fears and providing accurate information on the current situation as a way of building trust and confidence.

Thirdly, managers face the challenge of carrying out performance management in a crisis given the unexpected changes in the working conditions. To address this, they could invest in predicting and flagging technological tools. These are often tied to digital timekeeping systems, CCTV systems, and point-of-sale systems and help to monitor employees performance. Finally, managers face challenges around developing effective compensation structures that are commensurate with each jobs risk level as a means to prevent employees from leaving. They could address this by adopt intrinsic motivation strategies such as increasing employees autonomy…