"The world will never be the same after the Corona crisis". More and more frequently, one hears or reads this sentence in recent days and weeks. It refers to the social context, to teaching and learning, but also to personnel policy in German companies. The Institute for Employment and Employability (IBE) at the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences conducted a survey on the Corona crisis and its consequences for human resources and organization between March 23 and 30, 2020. The survey, in which 400 people participated, focuses on instruments for dealing with the crisis and the feared consequences for companies.
The survey first looks at instruments that are considered adequate for dealing with the crisis. The relevance of certain measures and approaches from the participants' point of view is surveyed in various topic areas. These include government assistance, work models, company support for employees, monetary measures, workforce reduction, leadership, and information and communication. In a second step, fears and opportunities associated with this exceptional situation for each and every respondent are questioned.
The respondents' feedback on their greatest fears shows that the risk of insolvency and staff reductions in particular are viewed with concern. Long-term consequences, such as a recession and a global economic crisis that could have economic dimensions and political and social consequences similar to those of 1929-1939, are also cited here. In comparison, the health consequences are perceived as rather less threatening.
When asked about the instruments that are considered adequate for dealing with the crisis, the need for state aid is given enormous approval ratings. Of particular relevance to the respondents are the unbureaucratic submission of applications for aid measures and short-time work (99 percent approval each). Also highly relevant are government liquidity assistance (94 percent), aid loans (88 percent), tax relief (87 percent) and a new government economic stimulus program (77 percent). This assessment is not surprising given the fears mentioned.
One of the respondents' greatest fears is staff reductions. However, a reduction in the workforce is not even the "means of choice" in the crisis for half of them. One conclusion that can be drawn from this is that the shortage of skilled workers has already reached such a high level in people's minds that they want to keep their workforces as a top priority so as not to be left "empty-handed" after the crisis. However, the longer this crisis lasts, the more attention will inevitably be focused on the toolbox of workforce reduction.
Against the backdrop of contact and exit restrictions, the place of work plays an important role. Many employees may or must relocate their work to home. And so it is not surprising that 91 percent of those surveyed believe that measures relating to the place of work are highly relevant in this crisis. While home office, for example, was for many years a form of work for certain groups of employees and areas of activity and was seen as a kind of "special status," it developed into a form of work for everyone, as it were, overnight. A complete return to the old world of the presence culture in the sense of the Monopoly rule "return to work" is rather unlikely. Of course, we won't all stay in the home office 100 percent of the time when the crisis is over, but it is very likely that we will work more and more in mixed forms.
The survey "HR Policy in the Corona Crisis" impressively shows that many of the respondents also see great opportunities in this crisis. The crisis is driving the digitization of processes in the company. If the financial resources are available, this will be implemented more quickly and consistently. In the area of school and academic education, as well as training and continuing education, enormous increases in online formats and digital learning content, some with very creative approaches, are already becoming apparent after only a short time. Much of what was previously "put on the back burner" is now being implemented within a comparatively short period of time, even though it is sometimes still proceeding according to the principle of trial and error. In addition, during this crisis it is possible to learn which familiar processes can possibly be managed differently.
The results of the study "Personnel Policy in the Corona Crisis" are now available for downloading free of charge in both text and graphic form at:
https://www.ibe-ludwigshafen.de/personalpolitik_in_der_coronakrise/
© IBE (2020): "Personnel Policy in the Corona Crisis."
Technical contact:
Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences
Institute for Employment and Employability IBE
Prof. Dr. Jutta Rump
Tel.: 0621 5203 238
prof.dr.rump@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 ibe-ludwigshafen.de
http://www.ibe-ludwigshafen.de
