COVID-19 and human resource management: status, trends and research directions
| Date | 06 June 2024 |
| Pages | 871-894 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-11-2023-0582 |
| Published date | 06 June 2024 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Leena Sachdeva,Lalatendu Kesari Jena,Gaurav Kumar Badhotiya,K.M. Baharul Islam,Bahaudin Ghulam Mujtaba,Suchitra Pal |
COVID-19 and human resource
management: status, trends and
research directions
Leena Sachdeva
Jindal Global Business School, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India
Lalatendu Kesari Jena
School of Human Resource Management, XIM University, Bhubaneswar, India
Gaurav Kumar Badhotiya
IIM Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad, India
K.M. Baharul Islam
Indian Institute of Management Kashipur, Kashipur, India
Bahaudin Ghulam Mujtaba
Nova Southeastern University –Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus, Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, USA, and
Suchitra Pal
School of Human Resource Management, XIM University, Bhubaneswar, India
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to conduct an extensive bibliometric analysis of research across COVID-19 and
human resource management (HRM). It captures an exhaustive conceptual understanding of theoretical
foundations, research trends, developments and research directions in the HRM domain.
Design/methodology/approach –A set of 505 HRM and COVID-19-specific articles collected from the
Scopus database were systematically analyzed using a two-tier method. In the first tier of analysis, the
evolution and current state of research are identified using citation analysis. In the second tier, network
analysis and content analysis of research clusters and thematic mapping are done to identify the prominent
research themes and research gaps and suggest future research directions.
Findings –The study highlights the emergence of six research clusters: SHRM and competitive advantage,
employer branding and employee engagement, crisismanagement and resilience, challenges, career shock and
job demand resources and burnout. The thematic mapping categorizes the themes into four categories: motor,
basic, emerging or declining, and niche research themes published on COVID-19 and HRM. To understand the
socio-cultural dynamics and cross-cultural issues during human resource management, the findings
emphasized the need for the increased contribution of researchers and practitioners, especially from the
developing and emerging nation’s context. Increased co-authorship among influential authors and institutions
will also help formulate strategies and policies to effectively deal with similar pandemics.
Originality/value –Unlike the previous literature review, the present findings provide meaningful insights
for formulating people management techniques, policies, and practices in response to COVID-19 or similar
pandemics.
Keywords Literature review, Bibliometric, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Human resource management,
Personnel management, Thematic mapping
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
Crises are inevitable in the business world. No one, however, could have predicted a crisis of
the magnitude of COVID-19, which has hastened the disruption of traditional human resource
management (HRM) practices and posed significant challenges for academicians and human
resource practitioners, who were not fully equipped with the necessary information,
Employee
Relations: The
International
Journal
871
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm
Received 17 November 2023
Revised 3 March 2024
11 May 2024
Accepted 13 May 2024
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 46 No. 4, 2024
pp. 871-894
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-11-2023-0582
resources, and competencies to deal with the pandemic’s complexity and novelty (Straus et al.,
2023). This crisis first began in the city of Wuhan in China, which witnessed an epidemic of
severe acute respiratory synd rome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV -2) in December 2019.
Thereafter, it expanded quickly, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to
declare a worldwide pandemic on March 11, 2020. As of 7 January 2024, more than 774 million
confirmed cases and over 7 million deaths due to COVID-19 have been registered worldwide
(WHO, 2024). The pandemic outbreak affected all segments of the population, putting strain
on healthcare personnel, policymakers and public administration.
As a result, the scientific community’s focus has shifted towards finding solutions to this
global health problem. Exponential growth was observed in scientific publications from
medicine to economics, environment and management (Mayberry et al., 2024). Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, most business sectors faced an immense economic crisis that caused
intense disruptions and significantly influenced human resource management strategies and
practices. Many employees are struggling due to health and safety issues at on-site work,
increased workload (Bartram et al., 2023), job insecurity (Eby, 2022), limited growth and
progress opportunities coupled with anxiety (Shoss et al., 2023). Despite these challenges, the
employees are working at risk to avoid job loss, pay cuts and layoffs while facing the stress of
working from home, increased domestic responsibilities, connectivity and belongingness.
Several studies have been published to explore the challenges and implications of COVID-
19 for human resource professionals within different contexts (Haldorai et al., 2024;Kaushik
and Guleria, 2019). For example, Eby (2022) highlighted the key themes of COVID-19 and
employment that evolved during the pandemic in response to societal, technological and
cultural shifts. The findings emphasized occupational health and psychological well-being,
work stressors, remote work, work-life balance, workplace safety, job insecurity, teamwork,
creativity, technology adoption, organizational citizenship behavior, diversity, emotions,
leadership and corporate social responsibility. Adikaram et al. (2021) proposed a crisis
management framework comprising three complementary HRM bundles: employee
motivation and engagement, cost-saving, and health and safety. These bundles encompass
a wide range of interconnected, consistent, and mutually supportive HRM practices and
activities, which provide a more accommodating approach to personnel management during
a crisis. Newman et al. (2023) emphasised the leader’s self-management and situational
awareness, family-supportive supervisor’s behavior, and internal and external consistency of
HRM practices and processes in managing human resources during a pandemic, whereas
Butterick and Charlwood (2021) argue the role of “the flexible firm”and “HR architecture”in
the commodification of labor, thereby increasing disparities in the job market. According to
Kulik (2022), COVID-19 has brought significant shifts in the workplace with a focus on remote
work, small teams, and flexible scheduling. These changes can be used to create meaningful
employment that fosters social connections through partnerships between HR researchers
and practitioners. Initiatives such as physical and psychological safety, employee autonomy,
and trust-based employment foster social cohesion among teams and clients, thereby yielding
the highest returns. Regretfully, companies have already begun to escalate employee
surveillance and formalize flexibility policies, endangering the progress made during the
pandemic. As part of a revitalization of HRM that strives to accommodate concerns outside
direct shareholder interests, HRM practitioners must establish job retention measures in
collaboration with wider stakeholders (Stuart et al., 2021).
Several reviews and bibliometric studies based on the COVID-19 context have been
published in different areas, ranging from marketing to supply chain to healthcare and
management (Eby, 2022;Verma and Gustafsson, 2020). Bolino et al. (2024) discussed the
scoping review of 69 papers that addressed management difficulties during the pandemic
and how it has affected leaders, teams, individuals, companies, and society as a whole. The
findings emphasized evolving issues in managing employees, such as return to work, great
ER
46,4
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