Emotional Labour During the COVID-19 Pandemic—Current Inquiry and Suggested Future Research Directions

The objective of this article is to examine the impact of macro-extreme emotional experience (MEEE) and the new societal norms during the COVID-19 pandemic on health and well-being and their situational consequences on emotional labour of frontline employees. The vast literature on emotional labour in the past has focused on several situational cues, and individual and organizational factors as antecedents. We did a systematic review of available literature on emotional labour, literature on sentiment analysis and emotional experience during the pandemic and analysed COVID-19 related blogs using Natural Language Processing (NLP) in RStudio. At the same time, we attempted to look at the possible intervention of individual factors of MEEEs and social aspects of the new societal norms as antecedents on emotion regulation process and its outcome and propose a conceptual framework for future research on emotional labour under the ‘new normal'. It was concluded that perceived risk, fear and anxiety are extreme emotions that individuals are experiencing during the pandemic. © 2023 XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources.

Exploring Crisis Leadership During COVID-19: A Case Study on OYO

The case explores the steps taken by the leadership team at OYO to mitigate the challenges faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a young start-up on the growth trajectory, OYO was hit harder than some of its established competitors. With the onset of the pandemic, the hospitality industry had come to a grinding halt and occupancy rates were at an all-time low. It was necessary for the management to revamp organizational structures and processes, and exhibit strong leadership skills to drive the workforce through one of the most challenging periods that OYO would have to go through. A recurring theme observed throughout the case is the resilient leadership response to the crisis by the protagonist, that is, Ritesh Agarwal, the Founder and Group CEO of the company, and his unwavering involvement in ensuring to keep the company afloat. Several people-centric initiatives that were undertaken for different stakeholder groups are outlined throughout the case and a major focus is given to the importance of decentralized and distributed leadership in the face of a crisis. The case is a narrative on organizational crisis management on the face of a setback and the role of leaders and empowered employees to navigate it. © 2023 K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research.

Responsible Governance in Containing the Spread of Covid-19 in a Developing State

Aim. The study aims to scan through the public institutional policy implementation in tackling the global pandemic and framing universal policies for responsible governance. It also measures the impact of training interventions and non-training implications in containing the spread of COVID-19 at the grassroots level. Methods. The samples were drawn empirically from pathological tests conducted over 23 weeks to precisely examine the success of the State Government's approach in lowering COVID-19 mortality and spread. Through trend analysis, the outcome has been predicted. The study establishes a link between acknowledged ideas and government practices, providing insight into how relevant the implementation of planned state-craft programs is. Results. The findings indicated that government-imposed policies account for timely pandemic containment, and even a tiny developing state lacking advanced medical facilities and technology can set an example in combating the epidemic. Conclusions. The temporal analysis is based on the inputs acquired from government publications and other sources, allowing us to assess policy initiatives that encompass training interventions and non-training implications as prioritised by the State Government. The paper shows that a good emergency preparedness and response system is needed to prevent huge losses in any sector. This includes the already-struggling health sector, which India needs to put first to avoid more tragedies.

Towards an Empathetic HRM in Industrial Relations: Need of the Hour in Disruptive Times

The paper explores the scope for bridging the emotional gap between the human resources and industrial relations decision-makers through an HR model driven by transparency, trust, empathy, and employee counselling to bring about transformation in industries and organizations. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to rising layoffs, unemployment, pay cuts, and stunted growth at workplace. This has resulted in unprecedented psychosocial stress among the employees and employers alike. A dearth of counselling practitioners in organizations has ensued and it is debilitating to the individual employee and industries alike. The need for empathy and counselling for the workforce has created scope for developing a model which talks about inculcating an integrated system of understanding and emotional availability for the employees. From a curative model of employee redressal, the paper investigates through prescribing a preventive model of transparency, trust, and empathy leading to transformation in the status quo of HR practices in IR. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.