Impact of Remote Working on Human Resource Management: The Role of IT in the COVID-19 ERA

Abstract

Working from home approaches are adopted by organizations to different extents during the COVID-19 Pandemic across the world. Basically, it is related to the organizational performance viewpoint- where the impact of COVID-19 on human resource management is obvious inside and outside the ICT environment. Therefore, in this paper, some aspects of human resource management are investigated to see the impact of working from home on HRM especially in a pandemic situation. The absence and non-adoption of ICT in different organizations explain why some organizations are away from performing their regular human resource management activities during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. We interviewed 487 workers performing HRM functions either working at home or involved in office space working while approached 642 workers. The paper contributes to HRM functions by providing an understanding of the substitution of remote working during crisis situations. The shifting of remote working results in positive and negative effects on organizational and individual aspects of HRM. We, therefore, conclude that remote working helps HR planning, recruitment and selection, meeting, and work schedule. Further, remote working strategies help work flexibility, improve health and safety, reduce commuting time, improve work autonomy and work/life balance within stay-at-home order to handle post-covid-19 pandemic.

Exploring the Remote Work Revolution: A Managerial View of the Tech Sector’s Response to the New Normal

“…HR and executive planning, which involves hiring, placing, and managing employees to meet the organization's needs, is often affected by the negative consequences of workplace changes. According to Rahman (2021), the primary issue with HR planning, as reported by workers who have faced a crisis and significant change in their HRM department, is mismanagement and inefficiency in scheduling and meetings. To address this, many technology corporations are investing in virtual meeting solutions, hopeful for the future of remote work and the potential reduction in scheduling and meeting interruptions.…”