Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 9-21-2021

Publication Title

Industrial-Organizational Psychologist

Volume

59

Issue

2

Abstract

The very nature and format of work, along with its social and psychological dynamics, the labor market, and economic conditions within which it is embedded have undergone a large change in the months since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic (Kniffin et al., 2020; Rudolph et al., 2021). No country has been spared the spread of disease and nowhere are workers free from the impact and aftermath of COVID-19. Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O) faculty and practitioners have been keenly observing, tracking, and studying the changing nature of work, but few have been doing so from a cross-cultural and international lens. Given the global nature of the pandemic, here we take a deliberate global, international perspective to understanding the disruption and opportunities for the world of work. An international perspective is imperative to developing a complete and holistic understanding of (a) work psychology in the face of pandemics, (b) the consequent challenges faced by workers and organizations, (c) the future of work post-COVID-19, and (d) how I-O can meaningfully contribute to ease work-oriented disruptions and better prepare for similar future challenges. We apply a cross-cultural and international lens to focus on four areas where scholarship and practice in I-O could help in matters related to employment and the workplace: (a) informal workers, workers in poverty, and precarious work around the world; (b) technology, human resources; (HR) practices, and the digital divide; (c) the intersection of culture, work, health, and well-being; and (d) learning from crises and crisis management during a global pandemic.

Comments

Permission granted to the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Institutional Repository to deposit this article into the repository. All rights belong to the copyright holder and permission for re-use would need to be obtained.

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Psychology Commons

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