Pandemics: Implications for research and practice in industrial and organizational psychology

Abstract

Pandemics have historically shaped the world of work in various ways. With COVID-19 presenting as a global pandemic, there is much speculation about the implications of this crisis for the future of work and for people working in organizations. In this article, we discuss 10 of the most relevant research and practice topics in the field of industrial and organizational psychology that will likely be strongly influenced by COVID-19. For each of these topics, the pandemic crisis is creating new work-related challenges, but it is also presenting various opportunities. The topics discussed herein include occupational health and safety, work–family issues, telecommuting, virtual teamwork, job insecurity, precarious work, leadership, human resources policy, the aging workforce, and careers. This article sets the stage for further discussion of various ways in which I-O psychology research and practice can address the issues that COVID-19 creates for work and organizational processes that are affecting workers now and will shape the future of work and organizations in both the short and long term. This article concludes by inviting I-O psychology researchers and practitioners to address the challenges and opportunities of COVID-19 head-on by proactively adapting the work that we do in support of workers, organizations, and society as a whole.

Don’t Call It Smart: Working From Home During the Pandemic Crisis

“…Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic certainly helped manage social distancing and consequently helped control the spread of the virus (Di Domenico et al, 2020;Kawashima et al, 2020). However, most organizations lacked a formal smart working policy and were not prepared for a general shift to remote working (Carnevale and Hatak, 2020;Rudolph et al, 2021). Working full time remotely was undoubtedly an unprecedented event for organizations and employees, who were forced, given the situation, to rethink and reorganize their work.…”

Impact of Perceived Organizational Support on OCB in the Time of COVID-19 Pandemic in Hungary: Employee Engagement and Affective Commitment as Mediators

“…According to Guadagno [31], foreign employees and employees with an immigration background are certainly more vulnerable and affected by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic because of various reasons, such as their working and living conditions, linguistic diversity, inadequate health services, limited network or local knowledge, etc. In the opinion of Rudolph et al [32], studying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the organizational behavior of foreign or migrant workers is one of the most significant topics for future studies because these employees are more likely to perceive inequalities and are more vulnerable to the health and economic effects of the pandemic within the host country. Therefore, the current study is conducted to understand the organizational behavior of foreign employees working in the service sector in Hungary by examining the impact of perceived organizational support on the organizational citizenship behavior of the employees, with the mediating effect of affective commitment and employee engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Factors Influencing Adjustment to Remote Work: Employees’ Initial Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Hence, this study explores factors related to employees' adjustment to remote work practices during the first phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. In achieving the aim of this study, we contribute to emerging research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work [3,[5][6][7][8].…”