The study of Hamouche (2021) wrote that "COVID-19 has grandly shaken all organizations,

creating a complex and challenging environment for managers and human resource
management (HRM) practitioners, who need to find ingenious solutions to ensure the continuity
of their companies and to help their employees to cope with this extraordinary crisis."

1. Insert my personal insights

COVID-19 is an alarming and threatening virus that caused a pandemic which greatly impacted
the daily activities of people. In an effort to prevent the further spread of the virus, the
government intervened by implementing rules to protect the people. This included curfews,
mandatory use of face shields and masks, limiting work hours, regulation of business operations,
temporary closure of schools, and travel bans. Moreover, people also stayed in their homes to
safeguard themselves against the virus. All of this resulted in a significant decrease in economic
activity: people's spending and earning ability.

As businesses struggle to make sales, they struggle to make profits. This may result to the
company's expenses outweighing its profits. Managers and HRM practitioners have to consider
the welfare of the very backbone of the organization, the employees, as well as, ensure their
decision is within the firm's means. Since employees are usually paid under fixed salaries, these
expenses go under fixed costs. In an article written by source, businesses with a relatively high
cash reserve and good corporate governance before the pandemic ensured their employees'
welfare. On the other hand, firms that did not fare well during the pandemic laid off employees
but helped them in finding new employment and ensured that the remaining were given higher
salaries. This whole event resulted to job insecurity in employees and increased workload or
working hours due to the dismissal of their colleagues.

Other challenges that a firm may have faced during COVID-19 are those concerning to the virus
itself. The managers and HRM practitioners have to make sure that the employees are
conducting their work in an environment that follows the safety protocols. As a result, some
employees are encouraged to work at home, while those in the firm work in more open spaces.
Furthermore, the manager and HRM practitioner should also consider the employees' mental
health, especially when their loved ones, community, or themselves may be endangered. In this
case, they implemented more flexible contracts and working hours. They also provided support
to employees that struggle with the changes and training for the use of online communications.

Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a global health and economic crisis, threatening the
lives of both businesses and people. Tough trade-offs, such as whether or not the firm or the
employee should be prioritized, are made. Business policies were also altered to suit the needs
of the employees. This was a difficult period for managers and HRM practitioners, but despite
the struggles of the firm to secure revenue for the continuation of the business, they were able
to come up with solutions to protect the employees' welfare.
Azizi, M. R., Atlasi, R., Ziapour, A., Abbas, J., & Naemi, R. (2021). Innovative human resource
management strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic narrative review approach.
Heliyon, 7(6), e07233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07233