Organizational Change Impact on the Employees’ Work-Life during and After Pandemic

THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE ON THE QUALITY OF EMPLOYEES’ WORK-LIFE DURING AND AFTER THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A CASE STUDY OF TESCO
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The Impact of Organizational Change on the Quality of Employees’ Work-Life during and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Tesco
Introduction
1 Background. The first case of Coronavirus (COVID-19) was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. On 30th January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). On 11th March 2020, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. Since the disease became an issue of international concern, the WHO, governments, companies, and an array of stakeholders have been working to limit the spread of the virus, develop tests, develop vaccines and treatment procedures, and address the impacts the pandemic has had on the social-economic aspects (Gupta et al., 2020).
2 Thesis statement. This research seeks to investigate how organizational change influenced by COVID-19 has impacted the quality of employees’ work-life during and after the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on a case study of Tesco, a company in the retail sector.
Argument 1: COVID-19 has affected people across the world, leading to compromised health and loss of life. It has been a major threat to the global and national economies. According to Mhalla (2020), COVID-19 has had major impacts across all industries as it spread across the world.
* The measures taken to prevent the spread of the virus included lockdowns, restrictive movement of people, curfews, and social distancing, among others, which led to the closure of most institutions, including schools and religious places as well as nonessential businesses such as entertainment and leisure facilities and hospitality services. This was coupled with a ban on public and private gatherings and events that limited social and economic interactions in many areas globally.
* In response to the measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, businesses across the globe adopted innovative and alternative measures of conducting business. In addition, human resources departments across all sectors have adopted new measures to ensure that productivity is relatively sustained during the pandemic as well as ensure that there is effective recovery from the pandemic.
Argument 2. The COVID-19 pandemic has had substantial impacts following the slowdown in global economics. Moreover, a consensus emerges from reports and research that COVID-19 has transformed organizations’ and employees’ perspectives concerning workplace engagement (Gupta et al., 2020).
* While in some contexts, the pandemic has led to increased unemployment, increased teleworking, and changes in human resource management (HRM) practices have facilitated new approaches in how individuals and teams engage at the workplace. Businesses that had been crippled by the pandemic are currently on the way to recovering from the economic shock. For instance, travel, tourism, and hospitality business are reopening across the globe but under new rules and health guidelines such as physical distancing and high personal and organizational health measures that have transformed the work environment and cultures that existed in such businesses (Mhalla, 2020).
* Reviews of Caligiuri et al. (2020) show that the pandemic has led to a complex and challenging environment for HRM and managers, which requires ingenious solutions to meet organizational objectives and sustainability in unprecedented situations. Consequently, many people in the working population have experienced drastic changes in their everyday life. This includes increased adoption of teleworking, where people and organizations use internet platforms to engage at the workplace. This has impacted family life due to the drastic change where people who commuted to work and engaged in rich social lives were confined by lockdowns and limited travel, working from home (Gupta et al., 2020).
* Only a few remained engaged at the workplace or essential workers such as health workers and supermarket staff. The conditions emerging at the workplace in response to new health guidelines have transformed how workers engage at the workplace. Cai et al. (2021) state that the reduced number of staff in supermarkets to achieve compliance with new health regulations has resulted in increased workload and stress at work. Further insights by Caligiuri et al. (2020) suggest that the changes in public health regulations have resulted in deteriorated working conditions that are likely to impact mental health on health care staff, such as stress, depression, and anxiety. Consequently, the experience during the pandemic and in the recovery from the pandemic presents a phenomenon where the organizational changes might have had a detrimental impact on the employees’ quality of life.
3 Research problem. There is a growing body of literature that focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on businesses and HRM. The insights emerging from these sources show that there have been substantial changes in organizations, which has influenced new HRM practices that are premised on the new health measures as well as innovative solutions.
* According to Gupta et al. (2020), major changes observed in organizations are the reduction of people who are directly engaged at the workplace and challenging working conditions. Many studies have focused on how employees are adjusting to working from home, with little insights being presented about how essential workers such as supermarket attendants who have been at the workplace during the pandemic thrive amidst the drastic and rapid changes.
* The organizational changes experienced in the supermarkets include the physical setting, where there have been rearrangements to facilitate physical distancing for customers and workers. Additionally, changes in the organizational culture are characterized by new approaches to recruitment, shifts, health requirements among workers, rewards and compensation, and other considerations in how workers are engaged at the workplace (Adikaram et al., 2021). Finally, Cai et al. (2021) note that businesses in the retail sector have transformed to support the workforce during the unusual COVID-19 period.
* Further transformations have been experienced during the recovery as businesses expand the workforce and influence necessary changes in the organizational cultures. For instance, there has been an increased focus on vaccination, with many businesses making it a mandate for workers returning to the workplace. In addition, other preventive measures such as wearing masks and physical distancing have been sustained. However, the impact of these health measures and HRM practices that have been adopted during and in the recovery from COVID-19 on the workforce is yet to be understood. This gap in knowledge includes the attitudes and perceptions that the workforce hold towards the changes implemented.
4 Rationale. The rationale behind the research is that there is a lack of substantial insights on the impact of organizational changes influenced by the pandemic on the quality of employees’ work life.
* There is a lack of insights on the strategies that can be adopted by HRM and business owners to effectively increase employee productivity and organizational performance in the current business environment.
* The insights emerging from this research can be instrumental in fostering effective management of change concerning the pandemic, recruitment of workers, and motivating the workforce to effectively engage in the emerging competitive and dynamic business environment.
* The research will offer insights that highlight changes in the retail sector and how workers can be effectively engaged to achieve the best work life.
5 Aim and objectives. This research aims to investigate the impact of organizational changes influenced by COVID-19 on the employees’ work-life, focusing on the retail sector. This will be achieved by focusing on the following specific objectives:
* To determine the perceived positive and negative impacts of the organizational changes due to COVID-19 on the employees’ work life.
* To determine the contribution of HRM in addressing the organizational changes experienced due to COVID-19.
* To determine the HRM functions that will be important for sustained and improved employee productivity during and when recovering from the changes influenced by COVID-19.
6 Thesis structure. The literature review chapter will offer a review of previous studies and other academic material concerning research objectives. The methodology describes the process of data collection and analysis. The results chapter will present the findings made in the study. The discussion integrates and interprets the primary findings with the secondary research. The conclusion offers a recap of the research and the key findings. The recommendations show the solutions that should be implemented in practice to influence positive change.
Review of Literature
1 Impact of COVID-19 employee engagement. Change is inevitable. Despite this, many companies face challenges in the implementation of change due to various reasons.
* The changes influenced by COVID-19 have not been optional for many companies. On the contrary, change during the pandemic has been a necessity to comply with health guidelines as well as protect the customers, workers, and other stakeholders.
* The mandatory changes have not been easy for companies that lack agility and the resources necessary for transformation (Adikaram et al., 2021).
* The changes experienced in organizations have influenced how workers are engaged and how resources are deployed to meet organizational objectives.
2 Impact of technology on the workplace during COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased reliance on technological solutions.
* According to Gupta et al. (2020), teleworking has led to increased use of information and communication technologies, including social media, for corporate activities.
* The flexible use of technology has also been experienced in the use of AI and big data technologies, which are transforming many businesses. Such technological solutions have been instrumental in developing supportive, creative, collaborative, and effective virtual processes.
* The retail sector has exploited the technological capabilities with increased online shopping.
3 New health and safety measures at the workplace. Changes in organizations are further exemplified in the health and safety measures that are implemented in organizations.
* Physical distancing, masks, handwashing mandates, and other hygienic measures have increased vigilance at the workplace (Cai et al., 2021). However, the health and safety measures also imply a reduction in the number of people available at the workplace. This includes the workforce as well as the customers.
* Further changes have been experienced in the limited use of physical money to other forms of payments.
* Workers have had to adapt to these changes with limited training in some cases.
4 Changes experienced in the retail-working environment. Among the most prominent changes during the pandemic has been the increase in the number of people working from home.
* Herath and Herath (2020) state that the development of technology has had an instrumental contribution to the achievements made in teleworking during the pandemic.
* Sulaiman et al. (2020) suggest that the changes that have led to many people working from home might have a lasting effect on how people engage at the workplace. Nevertheless, in some busi...