Surviving Covid‐19: The Role of Human Resource Managers in Shaping Organizational Responses to Societal Paradox

Abstract

This study examines the role played by Australian human resource (HR) managers in shaping organizational responses to the Covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of paradox theory. We argue that the Covid-19 crisis triggered a 'societal paradox' -protecting lives and the economy -that cascaded to organizations of all types. While studies suggest paradoxes cross levels of analysis, little is known regarding organizational responses to a societal paradox entailing interdependent and yet contradictory demands between socially significant objectives. We focus on HR managers because of their key role in providing Covid-19 advice and support. Using a combination of cross-sectional survey data (n = 680) and detailed semi-structured interviews (n = 43), we examine variations in HR managers' experience of, and responses to, organizational tensions generated by societal paradox. We find that HR managers play a key role in shaping whether organizational responses 'replicate' the initial societal paradox, or 'magnify' existing latent paradoxical tensions in the organization. We show how applying a societal lens adds insight to paradox theory, elucidate the HR-related mechanisms that underpin variations in organizational experiences/responses and produce an inductive model to guide future studies.

Disrupting Management Research? Critical Reflections on British Journal of Management COVID‐19 Research and an Agenda for the Future

“…, 2022 ; Ashman et al. , 2022 ; Branicki, Kalfa and Brammer, 2022 ; Nayani et al. , 2022 ; Puthusserry et al.…”

“…The authors introduce the concept of 'societal paradox' to describe the tension at the aggregate level between promoting health and prioritizing the economy, and explore how this tension manifests and is mitigated or exacerbated organizationally, depending on HR managers' approach and the extent of pre-existing organizational tensions. In addition to characterizing 'societal paradoxes', Branicki et al's (2022) contribution focuses on illuminating the role of middle managers as supporting actors in processes through which organizations navigate paradoxical tensions.…”

Applying Sustainable Model for Behavior Prevention during and Post COVID-19 Crisis

“…Occupational health is today a major issue in public health but also in managing human resources in organizations (Barel & Frémeaux, 2012;Branicki et al, 2022). Employee safety improves well-being at work while improving the company's economic performance.…”

Gender and resilience at work: A critical introduction

“…How organizations responded to COVID‐19 was also revealing (Branicki et al., 2022), as the crisis highlighted the ways in which pre‐existing socio‐economic inequalities, individualist ideologies, and masculinist logics permeate the neo‐liberal workplace (Wickström et al., 2021). Prior to COVID‐19, turbulence in contemporary organizational environments (King et al., 2016) and endemic job stressors (Kossek & Perrigino, 2016) had already contributed to a significant rise in scholarly, policy, and practice interest in workplace resilience.…”

“…Studies published in Gender, Work and Organization suggest that COVID-19 has increased the gender gap in work hours by 20%-50% in the United States (Collins et al, 2021); increased the time poverty of Bangladeshi women (Sarker, 2021); increased women's exposure to intimate partner violence in South Africa (Parry & Gordon, 2021); and decreased women's well-being in Germany (Zoch et al, 2021). Not all scholars paint such a bleak picture of women's experiences of the pandemic (Cano, 2022), nevertheless for many women COVID-19 has intensified tensions between women's paid and unpaid labor (i.e., social provisioning and caring responsibilities; Ozkazanc-Pan & Pullen, 2021).How organizations responded to COVID-19 was also revealing (Branicki et al, 2022), as the crisis highlighted the ways in which pre-existing socio-economic inequalities, individualist ideologies, and masculinist logics permeate the neo-liberal workplace (Wickström et al, 2021). Prior to COVID-19, turbulence in contemporary organizational environments (King et al, 2016) and endemic job stressors (Kossek & Perrigino, 2016) had already contributed to a significant rise in scholarly, policy, and practice interest in workplace resilience.…”