Taking off the rose-colored glasses: the influence of crises on employee relationship management
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-03-2021-0115 |
| Published date | 11 January 2022 |
| Date | 11 January 2022 |
| Pages | 833-849 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Audra Diers-Lawson,Lorraine Collins |
Taking off the rose-colored
glasses: the influence of crises
on employee
relationship management
Audra Diers-Lawson
School of Public Relations and Journalism, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK and
Communication, Leadership, and Marketing, Kristiania University College,
Oslo, Norway, and
Lorraine Collins
School of Public Relations and Journalism, Leeds Beckett University–City Campus,
Leeds, UK
Abstract
Purpose –The central aim of this research is to deepen the analysis of the influence that crises have on
employee relations by using the stakeholder relationship management model (SRM) to analyze organizational
employee relationship management (OERM).
Design/methodology/approach –This study uses a questionnaire distributed in two organizations (UK-
basedpublic sector and private sector)that were experiencing a crisisat the time of data collection. Respondents
identifiedwhether they believedthe organizationwas in crisis, if they definedit as in crisis classified whattype of
crisisit was, and then respondedto questions about theirrelationship to the organization,the organization’spost
crisis stabilityand their own behavioral intentions.
Findings –The findings verify the applicability of the SRM in employee relations with three critical
findings: (1) employees with higher income in the private sector were significantly less likely to believe
their organizationwas in crisis; (2) the more ambiguous the blame for the crisis, the greater the damage on
the relationship between organizations and employees; and (3) collective sensemaking in organizations is
essential, but less likely when a crisis has damaged the relationship between employees and
organizations.
Originality/value –In the last 40 years of Employee Relations, the role of crisis in influencing OERM has not
been meaningfully explored in the journal. Therefore, the piece makes an original contribution.
Keywords Crisis, Organizational employee relationship management, Stakeholder relationship management,
Employee relations
Paper type Research paper
It is fair to say that 2020 and 2021 have underscored the reality that we are in an age of crisis. Not
only has the global COVID-19 pandemic affected most people’s lives but also their work,
education and overall well-being. However, rather than thinking of crises as we once did as high-
impact, low-propensity events, we should be thinking of them as Heath and Millar (2004) suggest:
untimely but predictable events that has actual or potential consequences for stakeholders’interests
[...] [and where the] organization must respond in many ways [...] to demonstrate the organization
can regain control so that the crisis no longer exists or no longer harms stakeholders (p. 2).
The field of crisis communication has developed rapidly since the 1980s; however, most
research focuses on external stakeholders often forgetting the role and importance of
employees during crises (Heide and Simonsson, 2015;Riddell, 2013). In the context of crisis
communication, employees have been on the periphery of the field’s investigations for a
host of reasons ranging from access to a business-centric focus in crisis communication
Crisis and
OERM
833
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 20 March 2021
Revised 30 October 2021
Accepted 21 December 2021
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 44 No. 4, 2022
pp. 833-849
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-03-2021-0115
(Diers-Lawson, 2020b). Yet, research suggests that employees are vital for organizations to
manage emergent crises (Mazzei et al., 2012;Riddell, 2013).
Despite the limited research, where there are studies directly connecting crises and
various aspects of employee relations, the findings consistently demonstrate impact for the
organizations. For example, Kim (2020) found that stronger relationships between
organizations and their employees lead to better employee proficiency, adaptivity and
proactivity during crises, leading to more resilient organizations. Similarly, Promsri (2014)
discussed that perceptions of poor crisis preparedness can lead to poor morale and
productivity. Overall, when organizations safeguard their relationships with employees, Kim
and Lim (2020) found that an organization’s internal reputation significantly improved
employee performance during crises. Thus, understanding factors that influence the
organization and employee relationship during crises is necessary if we are to better
understand crisis management and the influence of crises on employee relations.
Unfortunately, in the context of employee relations, analyses connecting crises and
employee relations are limited. In fact, in Kataria et al.’s (2020) review of 40 years of Employee
Relations, they found six dominant themes in the journal including:
(1) High-performance work systems
(2) Industrial relations and the impact of human resource management
(3) Human resource management and organizational performance
(4) Workplace partnership and industrial relations
(5) Understanding organizational dynamics and changing roles of human resources
professionals
(6) Employment relations and human resource management strategy
Where there was research connected to crises it was most often within the context of
economic crises (Edvardsson and Teitsd
ottir, 2015;Fijalkowska et al., 2017), connected to
issues of industrial relations (Grady, 2013;K€
ohler, 2018) or connected to critical explorations
of social change or social problems (Adisa and Gbadamosi, 2019;Stanojevic, 2018). In short,
the crisis context has not been meaningfully addressed in the field of employee relations and
in an age of crisis, change and recovery it will be vital for organizations to view crises as a
different context for managing its relationships with its employees. Therefore, the central aim
of this research is to deepen the analysis of the influence that crises have on employee
relations and organizational employee relationship management (OERM).
Literature review
As a topic, employee relations is a rich field of study identifying critical connections between
organizations, employee attitudes and outcomes for both employees and their organizations
(Ahmad etal., 2020;Choi et al.,2019;Men, 2014;Rousseau, 1997). This sectionwill draw on that
literature but argue that the unique context of a crisis it is important that organizations view
their employees asstrategic internal stakeholders,managing their relationships with them as
carefully as with strategic external stakeholders (Diers-Lawson, 2020b;Heide and Simonsson,
2015;Kim and Lim, 2020;Mazzei et al., 2012;Mazzei and Ravazzani, 2014). This section will
addressthe challenges of the crisis context,analyze the relationshipbetween organizationsand
employees and consider outcomes associated with crisis andthis relationship.
Employees and the challenges of the crisis context
Employees are often overlooked during crises as organizations turn their focus to their
external stakeholders (Heide and Simonsson, 2015). Recent studies have attempted to address
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