By Nur Afiqah Md Amin & Muhammad Jazman Affiq Jalaludin
Introduction
Human resource evolution across time is vital for understanding the philosophy, functions, and practices of human resources that are applicable during a pandemic and post-pandemic Covid-19. Covid-19 brought several challenges. One of the challenges is on implementation of Movement Control Order (MCO) by the Federal Government of Malaysia which prohibits mass movement, religious, sport, social, and cultural activities as well as the closure of all entities except for essential service organisations. Many organisations have demonstrated their ability to face the challenges, responding with pre-designed crisis management plans (Mikusova & Horvathova, 2019) and creating new work conditions to protect employees within an unpredicted situation (Gartner, 2020; KPMG, 2020a; KPMG2020b).
Human resources, an element of the management discipline, has followed the pattern of management development suitable for the pandemic situation. Human resources describe how an organisation manages its human resources. Human resources must do something to keep employees in an organisation and make them feel at ease, starting with the recruitment process, employee management, payroll, disciplinary documentation, and performance evaluation. For instance, the payroll of employees must be handled as quickly as feasible since they require funds to maintain their personal lives during MCO. It can help individuals stay motivated to do their jobs well.
According to Srivastava (2020), there are several roles of human resources. Firstly, as a facilitator. In this position, the HR department assists or facilitates other departments in achieving the goals or standards set out in the organization's HR policies. Human resource needs to make sure of the compliance of SOP and update the changes of SOP during the pandemic and post-pandemic. Secondly, as a supporter. Employees are an organisation's most valuable asset. As a result, safeguarding their well-being is critical. Last but not least, as a consultant. Human resource will assist managers on how to deal with specific people management difficulties in a professional manner.
Issues During pandemic
To avoid the spread of Covid-19, Malaysian government has implemented measures and regulations that require physical distancing, the closing of non-essential business, travel restrictions and stay at home orders. Malaysian has experienced a series of Movement Control Order (MCO), with limited economic sectors allowed to remain open. Every organisation must follow this order which requires employees to work remotely from their office, such as at home. It is unfair for those who do not have significant gadgets to carry out daily work or meetings that will be held online. There are three main areas affecting the employee relationship in the workplace during pandemic:
Feeling of Isolation
According to Hwang et.al (2020), the feeling of isolation as an objective state of individuals’ social environments and interactional patterns. Everyone wants to feel emotionally connected and attached to people around them. Isolation arises as a result of a lack of social interactions, such as friendships and romantic partnerships, with whom they may share their interests. Feelings of isolation and emptiness are exacerbated in the job when this factor is present. Workplace isolation leads to emotional disengagement. When employees are lonely, they begin to withdraw from social gatherings. They cease connecting with their colleagues and speaking with them. They quit taking part in activities that require them to work in groups. Patil and Gopalakrishnan (2020) found that 57% of the employees are experiencing an increase of feeling lonely during remote working.
Employee Engagement
As the COVID-19 virus spread across Malaysia, the federal and state governments began enacting severe lockdowns and social distancing policies. Many workers have been laid off. To protect the health and well-being of workers and customers, essential staff have been subjected to new standard operating procedures and limits. Moreover, several businesses have shifted their whole workforces to temporary remote work and telecommuting. Due to limitation of movement, the majority of employees will not be actively participating in current or future initiatives. Employees will feel alienated and perhaps disregarded as a result of this.
Employee Experience
Patil and Gopalakrishnan (2020) defined employee experience as perceptions that employees have about the organisation they are working with. The duties of employers and human resources departments have gotten increasingly challenging to keep the organisation aligned and well connected while all the employees are working from home during pandemic. They need to identify what matters the most to employees in getting positive experience in working that will lead to high productivity in works. It includes in terms of how they strategise in managing remote workforce, digitalise the human resource function and re-analyse workforce model. Positive experience of the employees in the organization will create positive impact to the organisation every time the customer has good interaction with the organisation (Morgan, 2015). If the organisation fails to create positive employees experience, job productivity of the employees especially the new ones, will be compromised since they are unfamiliar with the company software. In addition, the company’s name will be tarnished as a result of work not finished on time.
Issues in Post Pandemic
Employer distrust toward employee
Employers profoundly distrust their employee’s ability to get their work done without in person supervision. This is because during pandemic, employers place complete faith in their staff as the staff can do the task with minimal supervision. As a result, problems will be corrected right away and the organisation will be able to function smoothly as planned. On the other hand, during post pandemic, employers do not trust their employees because they cannot see the employees executing the work in front of their eyes. Therefore, employees will seek a new employment over returning to former organisation that does not trust them. The employees will retain their position in the company if the employer has sense of trust over them. This will motivate the employees to achieve the aims and goals of the organisation.
Solution
To overcome these issues, employers should have sense of empathy towards their employees and can comprehend how they feel while performing their duties. This involves employees' personal life experiences or problems. Managers should always put themselves in the shoes of their subordinates and have sensemaking which is a crucial element of everyday life in organisation (Pye, 2005). It may solve issues and manage disagreement between both parties. Understanding the importance of social identity for both organisations and employees is extremely beneficial. For example, employers regard their employees as individuals rather than as employees. This is because employees have personal concerns and difficulties to deal with during and after the pandemic.
Digitalisation initiative is the other solution of this problem. Basically, there are three key areas which are people readiness, software suitability and digital friendliness. The link between people, processes, systems, and performance evaluation is referred to as "people readiness." It necessitates synchronisation and coordination, since no implementation will be successful without them. As a result, the company should have procedures and people in place to coordinate efforts and communicate changes. The organisation (people and management) must be willing to accept, rather than resist and change. Learning and adapting to change are a continuous process. The objective is to change people's ideas and reshape the organisation. Employers must provide training for employees who have challenges or lack expertise especially for new employees. This will make it easier for them to adjust to the company's workplace environment.
Next, software suitability. Each department or organisation has its own distinct personality, and they should employ a variety of softwares that are suitable in their everyday operations. Lastly, digital friendliness. Digital friendly process should be simple, transparent and sustainable. Easy to use is what digital friendliness entails. As a result, it will be easier for employees to accomplish their task in a timely manner. This will have an influence on the organisation, allowing for the seamless execution of all tasks and meetings.
Conclusion
In conclusion, every company is affected during pandemic and post pandemic especially employees and employers. They had to deal with a government order that required them to shut down business operation due to the pandemic in order to prevent Covid-19 from spreading. Before pandemic, they felt at ease at a physical office where they could focus on their job and have direct meetings. Employees, in particular, would feel valued by their employers, and connections between colleagues would also be strengthened.
Human resource department and employer need to think ahead of their strategy how to make the company run smoothly during pandemic and post pandemic without any issues. Moreover, the government could also show their support to the affected company like providing any financial aid scheme so that they can survive and sustain in the business during pandemic until now.
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