Implications of COVID-19 on Human Resource Practices: A Case of the Ghanaian Formal Sector

Abstract

Organizations and their human resources have to navigate through the harsh impacts of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Such external crisis requires dynamism of HR systems to deal with the growing concern of all sectors across the world and specifically, the Ghanaian formal sector and its employees. HR department serve as liaison between organizations and their human resources. As such, HR Officers need to ensure a balance between the gains of the parties in the employment contract. As the employer aims at maximizing profit the employee aims at maximizing satisfaction from the job. In attempts to guarantee that both parties are well served beyond the COVID-19 crises period, there is the need to reintegrate existing human resource practices and procedures. Moving beyond the crisis would require learning, innovation and adaptation. HR practices need to be modified, reestablished and practiced. In this article, we discuss challenges faced by employers and employees in the face of the pandemic and how these challenges can be mitigated though readjustment of HR practices taking into consideration the local Ghanaian context. The evidence calls for a quick response for HR departments to adjust HR practices to align with the crisis. We advocate for an empirical research in this area to aid long-term HR policy.